Tears flowed amid the glow of candles as hundreds of people gathered to grieve, following a fatal pedestrian collision which claimed the life of a young boy in Chilliwack.
A candlelight vigil was held Friday evening (March 7) at Vedder and Petawawa roads, the area where three-year-old Everett Janz was struck by a pickup truck on March 5. Despite life-saving efforts by emergency responders, he succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
There were prayers, guitar music and Indigenous drumming as people placed candles as part of a memorial at the site. The memorial has been growing at the intersection since Wednesday, with photos of him, flowers, teddy bears and messages of love.
The vigil was not a celebration of life, but a "space for us to come together as a community and offer a prayer and a symbol of love," according to a social media post by Central Community Church which organized the event.
The church invited the community to "gather as a sign of solidarity with the family, a deep desire to grieve with those who grieve, love and lift them up, and hold them up in prayer."
They said a service will be held at a later date.
This was the third fatal crash involving pedestrians in less than three weeks in Chilliwack. On Feb. 17, a man died in the 3500 block of Boundary Road. Then, on Feb. 18, a man was hit and killed by a commercial vehicle at Vedder and Promontory roads.
