A newly-arrived Indian immigrant, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Brampton on Monday, has been identified as Prakash Mariyappan.
The 29-year-old victim came to Canada a year ago with his wife and an infant. He was hit by a car while riding his bike, not far from his home in Brampton, this Monday morning. He was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries. The woman driver fled the scene after the accident. She was later arrested and her vehicle was seized by the police.
Media reports quoted the victim’s wife, Indu Sekar, as saying that she was against the idea of moving to Canada but he convinced her by promising a better life.
When the shattered wife was brought to see the body of her husband, she broke down, saying: “This is what you came here for?”
A family friend told the media, “She didn’t want to travel to Canada, he only convinced her to travel here to get a better life. And yesterday when she saw his body, she broke down, saying, ‘I told you, we need not come here’. They came to this country with a lot of dreams, but everything is shattered now.”
A ‘GoFundMe’ has been launched by the local community to raise money to fly the body back to India.
“My Friend Prakash has came to Canada just towards the end of 2022. He was living with his wife and an 18 months old boy in Brampton. Unfortunately he has passed away by a fatal accident done by a impaired driving lady on 3rd July 2023 in Brampton. We have just begun this fund raising activity to support the family (his wife Indumathi and kid) and get his body transported to Tamilnadu, India. Even a penny from your pocket will help the family in some ways, atlast this is the least thing we could do to stand by his family during this tough times,” wrote the fund organizer.
