A Calgary family that had planned to relocate to Toronto has been shattered by a highway crash in northern Ontario that claimed a total of four lives.
The Metko family was travelling southbound on Highway 7, south of Wawa, Ontario, on Sunday night when their vehicle struck a moose. The impact sent their vehicle into the northbound lane of the highway where a collision occurred with an oncoming vehicle.
Fatos Metko, 45, and his son Fioralb, 14, were pronounced dead at the scene. The surviving members of the family, mother Maralba and 10-year-old daughter Brianna, were transported to hospital in London, Ontario.
Two of the five occupants of the northbound vehicle have succumbed to their injuries. Ontario Provincial Police officials have identified the deceased as 51-year-old Cynthia Caraoa and nine-year-old Anika Caraoa of Winnipeg.
Geno Metkos, a cousin of Fatos’ who resides in Michigan, has visited Maralba and Brianna in hospital. He says Maralba remains in critical condition and has undergone two surgeries while Brianna’s condition has improved and she is expected to make a full recovery.
“We’re trying to cope,” said Geno. “It’s probably the hardest thing I have seen or heard in my life. Even if it was a movie, I would be terrified. It all seems like a bad dream. We are trying together as a family with the support that we’ve had.”
“(Fatos) was an amazing person, a big hearted guy. He was a good father and was dedicated to his children.
Geno says he has been close with Fatos since childhood and holds great memories of their time together.
“Our houses were next to each other back in Albania. During those times Albania was a communist country and life was not easy at all. He was like a younger brother. We are almost the same age. We grew up together and played together.”
According to Geno, Fatos moved his family to Canada from Albania approximately a decade ago and the family was now planning to move from Calgary to Ontario to be closer to relatives. “They got in the car as a family, they said let’s go to Toronto, find a place, drop off the car, fly back to Calgary again, get the stuff and come back. That was the plan.”
In Calgary, Fatos Metko is being remembered by friends as an incredibly hard worker who held several jobs to support his family. The chef worked at a number of restaurants including The Broken Plate, Original Joe’s and Brewsters.
Saleem Shaik, a friend of Fatos for nearly seven years, says she’s heartbroken by the loss. “To be honest, I’m not feeling that good,” said Shaik. “This news is shocking to me. I’m not able to believe that Fatos is not here.”
A GoFundMe campaign was created to support the Metko family. In its first day, the campaign has surpassed its initial goal of $10,000.
With files from CTV's Kathy Le
