‘This world is so unfair I cannot believe it’
TOWN GRIEVES WITH FAMILY OF GIRL KILLED IN PARADE
The four-year-old girl who died in a tragic accident at a Christmas parade is being remembered as a child who “loved helping other people” and had a passion for learning.
MaCali Cormier died Saturday night after she fell under the wheels of a float during the annual Parade of Lights in Yarmouth, N.S.
Her obituary, posted on the H.M. Huskilson’s funeral home website, said Cormier was a preprimary student at Yarmouth Central School and “couldn’t wait” to go to the new school that is being built across the street.
“MaCali will be remembered as an awesome big sister to Tessa and Matthew Cormier,” read the obituary. “Most of all, MaCali will be remembered as a little girl who loved helping other people.”
It said she also loved swimming, camping, horseback riding, dancing, and watching YouTube videos.
A witness to the tragedy, local resident Vance Webb, said when he arrived to watch the parade with his step-son and three grandsons, he and his wife noticed there were vehicles parked on both sides of Main Street — the street used for the parade.
“They were parked all along the parade route, bumper-to-bumper,” he said in an interview. “It created hundreds of spots where kids were running in and out. It reduced the road size. Of course, kids want to see the parade, so there’s a tendency for them to poke out from behind the cars.”
Webb said he had never seen vehicles lining both sides of the street during previous parades.
“The fact that the road was narrowed by the parked vehicles — it was not good. That should never happen.”
Webb said there was “mayhem” once people on the street realized what had happened.
“People within 50 feet of it — none of us are OK,” he said. “All the adults were crying. Everywhere I saw, there were hundreds of people crying.”
Officials with the Town of Yarmouth, who issued a permit for the parade, could not be reached for comment Monday.
An Oct. 4 entry form on the Facebook page for the Parade of Lights noted that parking would be allowed on Main Street.
Since Saturday, dozens of friends have sent messages of condolence to the two young parents, whose Facebook pages paint pictures of sorrow and sympathy.
In a long Facebook post, a family friend described it as a “heart wrench of a time” and recalled when he first met the girl.
“Even people who never ever met her, or the family, is grieving … a piece of my heart has shattered and will never be able to be fixed.”
“This world is so unfair I cannot believe it,” wrote one woman, who had changed her profile picture to a photo of Cormier. “I’m so so sorry … she was a beautiful little girl!”
A vigil was to be held Monday evening at Frost Park, close to the town’s waterfront, to pay tribute to the young girl whose death has devastated the community.
Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood said more than 40 people showed up at a downtown hotel on Sunday to receive grief counselling.
“There were a lot of tears,” Mood said Monday. “It was raw, emotional. I’ve never experienced anything like that. People were just very open, and it was a safe place to be.”
Mood said she knows the girl’s family, but had yet to speak to them.
“It’s unimaginable what they are going through,” she said.
Grief counsellors were to be dispatched to area schools on Tuesday, when students return from a previously scheduled day off, Mood said.
“The most important part is that people all grieve differently, and we need to respect that in each other,” Mood said. “And it’s not just emotional. It’s a physical reaction to tragedy.”
In a statement, the Tri-County Regional Centre for Education said it had implemented its crisis management plan.
RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dal Hutchinson said Monday police will be taking statements from witnesses, the person driving the float and the girl’s parents.
“This was an extremely traumatic event that was witnessed by so many people, including children, who were present to enjoy a family event,” Hutchinson said in an email. “We encourage people to seek professional help to manage their emotions after having witnessed such a tragic incident.”
Hutchinson confirmed police had seized the vehicle and float to conduct mechanical inspections.
“It’s too early in the investigation to speculate what charges, if any, are warranted,” he said.
A spokesperson at Huskilson’s said they have chosen to absorb the funeral costs. Instead, donations can be made through the funeral home to a trust fund for Cormier’s younger siblings.
“The family is struggling enough without the added burden of having to pay funeral expenses, so we’re just another member of the community that’s trying to help them out,” the employee said.
Huskilson’s said visitation and funeral times will likely be confirmed on Tuesday.