Dozens of people gathered in Oshawa on Tuesday night to celebrate the life of a local woman killed in car crash involving nine vehicles in August.
Christine Potes, 41, died at the scene of the crash at about 12:15 p.m. on Aug. 10 in an Oshawa intersection, according to her family members. She left behind a husband, two sisters, two nephews and a niece, according to an obituary.
Durham Regional Police said the crash at of Ritson Road South and Bloor Street left nine other people with non-life-threatening injuries. A Toronto man, 40, has been charged in the crash with dangerous operation of a conveyance causing death, four counts of dangerous operation of a conveyance causing bodily harm, and leaving the accident scene failing to give name and offer assistance.
Katrina Potes, 40, sister of Christine Potes, said before the vigil at Lakeview Park Beach that her sister’s death has “absolutely shattered” the lives of her loved ones. She said she will never grow old with her sister.
“It’s the everyday presence that we’ll never get back. And that just leaves us with a hole, a hole in our hearts and a hole in our lives,” Potes said.
Potes said her favourite memories with her sister are talking on the phone with her every day.
According to her family, Christine Potes loved music, and at the vigil, her favourite songs were sung in honour of her.
In a news release, police said a black Mercedes was speeding down Riston Road South when it crashed into a white Nissan. That collision caused a chain reaction of crashes. The driver of the white Nissan lost control, hitting a Chevy Orlando, which caught on fire. The white Nissan then struck a Honda and Dodge Caravan, which also caught fire. Several other vehicles were struck by the Honda and Chevrolet Orlando.
The Mercedes then barrelled into a roadside chip truck with staff people inside and a customer waiting outside for food. The crash caused the awning to collapse on the customer. The Mercedes then crashed into a light pole, police said.
‘It’s your worst nightmare,’ husband says
Matthew Biljetina, Christine Potes’s husband, said the two met in Toronto eight years ago and moved to Oshawa in 2021. He said Potes loved to run on the beach where the vigil was held, not far away from her home. He said he misses her laugh and her warmth.
“It’s your worst nightmare. You don’t think it’s going to happen to you. Everyone says this is unthinkable, but it’s only unthinkable because it doesn’t happen to you. And when it does, that’s when it’s real,” he said.
“I miss just the noise in the house that she brought. When you have noise in a house, it’s life. And now, there’s an eerie quietness that I’m not really used to.”
Biljetina said the vigil was also held to help the community heal.
“There’s a lot of people with a lot of trauma because of this event. And we want to bring those people together and give them the healing that they need so the community can move on but also be aware that these things can happen.”