‘I didn’t have time to say goodbye’
Daughter mourns electrician killed on his way to work
Jessy Plaza remembers standing barefoot in her gi at six years old, looking up as her father — a black belt — used his passion and goofy humour to teach her karate. Since his death, she’s relived these moments as others have reached out with their own memories of her dad.
“He was always trying to make people smile,” said Jessy. “I think that’s why people will always remember him.”
Fausto Plaza, 54, was on the sidewalk on his way to take a bus to work in the early hours of Monday morning when police say an inebriated novice driver lost control of his BMW sedan, jumped the curb and hit him. Plaza was fatally struck steps from his North York apartment and less than a block away from the Lawrence Avenue West apartment building where he once lived with his ex-wife and daughter.
The details of how her father’s life was taken away are “heartbreaking,” Jessy said.
According to his daughter, Plaza moved to Canada from his hometown of Cuenca, Ecuador, in 1992 along with his then-wife. They settled in North York, where Jessy was born; the family shared many vacations back to Ecuador, including a recent trip for Jessy’s wedding.
In Toronto, Plaza worked as an electrician; Jessy remembers her father as a “very hardworking man” who was an enthusiastic participant throughout her life in parades and other events for his union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
He was not a smoker or a drinker and had warned Jessy against driving under the influence, she said. “He always told me you shouldn’t do that because anything could happen.”
On Monday, a trail of debris and tire marks could be seen outside the apartment buildings at Lawrence Avenue West and Varna Drive, showing where the allegedly drunk driver had crossed over the sidewalk before crashing into a fence.
According to police, the driver was headed west on Lawrence Avenue West shortly before 5 a.m. when he lost control attempting to pass another vehicle. Plaza was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver and three passengers were uninjured and stayed on the scene following the crash, police said.
Shengquan Wang, 19, is facing charges of impaired driving causing death; dangerous driving causing death; driving with a blood-alcohol content over 80 milligrams of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of blood; and driving as a novice driver with a blood-alcohol reading over zero.
According to court documents, Wang was not the owner of the car that struck Plaza.
Neighbours who live in the apartment buildings at Lawrence and Varna Drive told the Star that they have witnessed other recent car crashes and near-misses with pedestrians in recent months, calling for a crossing guard to be hired to oversee the area.
Speaking to the Star on Tuesday, Jessy Plaza told of how she would tease her dad by comparing him to Grumpy, the curmudgeonly character from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” He’d protest — but then he’d still wear the shirts emblazoned with the character’s likeness she’d give him as gifts.
The last meal they shared was a spontaneous gathering on Sunday, when Jessy, her husband, her mother and Plaza ate tacos together.
“I said ‘take care’ and I hugged him,” Jessy said. “I never knew it was it was going to be the last time I’d see him.”
They had planned to attend the St. Patrick’s Day parade together this weekend. Instead, once Plaza’s body is returned to his family, she plans to travel back with him one final time to Ecuador, so that he can be laid to rest with his parents, in accordance with his final wishes.
“I just want justice so my dad can rest in peace,” she said. “I didn’t have time to say goodbye to him.”