Crash victim mourned
‘Really sweet and down-to-earth’ 24-year-old died in horrific crash on Mount Pleasant Rd.
Ad hoc memorial for trainer springs up near site of Mount Pleasant accident,
A man brought two cans of beer to the spot where David Chiang died. As midday traffic rushed along Mount Pleasant Rd., he chugged one can while pouring the second beer into the sewer. Then he tucked a cigarette under one of the pole’s steel bands and walked away.
On Wednesday, the debris from the horrific car crash that ended Chiang’s life was gone. In its place was an ad hoc memorial with offerings of flowers, clothing and food for the “really sweet and down-toearth” personal trainer.
“There’s no story here, just a tragedy,” said a friend who left an extralarge coffee at the scene.
When asked if the crackers, rice and noodle dishes on the sidewalk were Chiang’s favourite foods, he shook his head — it was the tuna sandwich.
“That’s what he ate every damn day,” he said.
Chiang, 24, a popular personal trainer at Extreme Fitness, died early Tuesday morning when the Range Rover he was a passenger in hit a curb and smashed into a lamp pole, breaking apart.
At the wheel of the SUV was Oliver Karafa, 19, a member at the same fitness club. Police allege Karafa was drunk and driving dangerously when the vehicle crashed a few blocks north of Eglinton Ave. E. He suffered minor injuries and now faces several charges, including impaired driving causing death.
Karafa spent the night in jail Wednesday after a brief appearance in court for a bail hearing, the contents of which are protected by a publication ban.
In the prisoner’s box, he directed his unchanging expression toward whoever was speaking. He wore the same tight black jacket and blue jeans as the previous day’s appearance. He stood and occasionally nodded when addressed by Justice of the Peace Mindy Avrich-skapinker.
He sometimes glanced around the courtroom and exchanged eye contact with sister Edita Karafova, 22, who sat in the front row of the gallery.
Defence lawyer Lawrence BenEliezer said Karafa, who has no criminal record, is “holding up about as well as can be expected.”
“He was in amazing shape, and he had the world ahead of him. What is there to say? When do we learn?”
FREEMAN HILL ON FELLOW GYM MEMBER DAVID CHIANG
The hearing resumes Thursday morning. Karafa is listed as a “new face” with B&M Models, a downtown boutique agency. On its website, photos show the 6-foot Karafa holding a mug on a bench while smoking, a camera strung around his neck, with his brown hair styled short on the sides, longer on top. At the “Delisle Club” where both men worked out, staff hugged and eyes brimmed with tears as they remembered Chiang as a kindhearted co-worker full of laughter. A sign at the front desk noted, “It is difficult to find words that convey our great sense of loss.” General manager David Luck said Chiang’s family was devastated and asked for privacy. Freeman Hill, a gym member, biked to the intersection where Chiang died to add a weight belt to the shrine. “This is sad for everybody,” he said as he sat on the ledge of a nearby garden and wrote “Taken too soon from us” on the leather. Hill didn’t train with Chiang but had asked him about different protein supplements and for the occasional exercise tip. Hill has seen Karafa — “a skinny kid” — around the gym once or twice. Hill said Chiang “was a great ambassador.” “He was in amazing shape, and he had the world ahead of him. “What is there to say? When do we learn?”