Hundreds of people attended a funeral held on Wednesday for a five-year-old girl who was killed by a city garbage truck.
Kayleigh Callaghan-Belanger died after she was hit at the corner of Cliffside and East Haven drives in Scarborough on Thursday.
About 400 mourners packed the Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church to pay their final respects.
Following the service, Kayleigh’s friends and family exited the church carrying pink roses.
“It’s been tough. We’ve lost a child, a beautiful child,” Kayleigh’s step-grandfather Jim Patton said after the service.
“Our family understands that it was an accident. We’re going to do our best to move on as a group and as a community. She was a beautiful, beautiful little girl.”
“She’s up there and she’s with my mom,” Kayleigh’s grandmother Debby Belanger told CityNews. “My mom is holding her now, so she’s safe.”
Several members of the neighbourhood also attended the service to show their support for the family.
“It’s a school community and it’s a small school and I just wanted to show my support.” said Jennifer Findlayter, who used to work at the school the little girl attended.
“She was a sweet little thing,” Monica Fuhry, whose children went to school with Kayleigh, told CityNews. “I feel so bad for the family. They want her remembered as a sweet little girl.”
Since the accident, several people, including family members, have raised concern over the safety of the intersection where Kayleigh was struck and killed.
“We lost Kayleigh. It’s not okay. But if another child dies we failed Kayleigh as human beings,” said Patton.
Residents say the neighbourhood, west of Kingston Road and Midland Avenue, lacks the proper signage to indicate it’s a school zone.
On Tuesday, protesters gathered at Toronto City Hall to demand accountability, as family and friends gathered to remember the little girl at a visitation.
They’re asking for sidewalks, speedbumps and crossing guards — anything that might keep pedestrians safer. The sidewalk ends mid-block, forcing pedestrians — including Kayleigh — onto the street.
Witnesses said the driver, who hasn’t been charged, was travelling at a high rate of speed before the crash.
Concerned residents have also started a petition for increased road safety in the area that had over 500 signatures as of Tuesday night.
“I understand some local residents have started an online petition and once I have received it, my office will be working with our transportation staff to do whatever is necessary to make the area safe, based on staff recommendations,” said Scarborough Southwest Coun. Gary Crawford.
Kayleigh was one of a group of four children walking home after school around 4 p.m. Two other children, ages six and 12, were hit and suffered non life-threatening injuries. The fourth child wasn’t hurt.