Victims of Gatineau Park crash identified
A “friendly and kind” student from China studying at Algonquin College and a Vancouver-area woman have been identified as the young people killed when their car crashed into trees in Gatineau Park in late May.
Huarui Zhao, 23, was from Tianjin, China and Hui Ki Wong, known as Krystal, was 19 and from New Westminster, B.C., the RCMP said, as they investigated a separate crash in the park in which four teens were hurt Monday night.
Zhao, known as Ray, had a flight booked to head home in June to see his parents and little sister, a friend said on social media. Now instead of greeting him at the airport, they’ve received tragic news from Ottawa.
Algonquin College issued a statement on the death of Zhao, a student who was in the business administration program focusing on supply chain and operations management. Flags were lowered to half-mast in his memory Wednesday. The college referred students in need of support to its counselling service.
Lyndsay Leidecker was shocked by the news about her classmate. They’d been in the same program for two years and were project partners last semester until their final exams in May.
“Ray was a super car enthusiast and I know he loved to go driving,” she said in a Facebook message, adding that he was also a “brilliant” student who excelled at math and statistics and went out of his way to help others.
“His kindness and smile would last even at some of the most stressful times,” Leidecker said. “It’s truly horrible news because he would have went so far in life.”
Another Algonquin classmate, Sarah Al-ahmadi, agreed that Zhao was “obsessed” with cars and had been working on engines in a car repair shop in addition to his school work.
“He was one of the hardworking members of my group, and he was friendly and kind,” she said. “He is just one of those people that would touch your heart.
“It is sad knowing his loss. May his soul rest in peace.”
First responders found the two unresponsive on May 29 after the single-vehicle crash on the Champlain Parkway near Huron Lookout at about midnight. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
“The RCMP is investigating the specific circumstances of the collision, but speed is likely a contributing factor,” police said.
“The RCMP is reminding motorists that the speed limit in Gatineau Park is 60 km/h. We also encourage motorists to be very cautious and vigilant, especially at night, as parkways can be dangerous, due to the winding configuration, weather, but also because of the many animals that may be out of the woods looking for food.”
This Monday evening, four teenagers were injured in a singlevehicle crash on the Champlain Parkway near Kingsmere Lake in Gatineau Park.
First responders found the vehicle had left the road and crashed into the trees.
The victims, two 17-year-old girls and two 18-year-old men, were taken to the Hull Hospital’s trauma unit with multiple minor injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
Friend Phuong Le posted a tribute on Zhao’s Facebook page.
“Rest in peace my dear friend,” he wrote. “I will never forget the memories we shared during our time together.”