The family of the three-month-old boy killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 the same year he was born are mourning his death, remembering the “joy and happiness” he brought them.
Brinda, the aunt of baby Aditya Vivaan, shared memories of the newborn at a funeral in the east of Toronto Wednesday just over a week after he and his grandparents died in a crash on Highway 401 that came amidst an unrelated police chase.
“My mother was the first one to hold him after Gokul (his father) and Ashwitha (his mother),” Brinda said. “My father was the first to kiss him on his forehead after Gokul and Ashwitha. And today, the three of them have left us with (a) void that can never be filled.”
She added, “Adi knew nothing but love. In the short three months we had with him, Adi filled our lives with joy and happiness.”
Aditya and his grandparents were killed in a crash on Highway 401 in Whitby, Ont., at the end of April.
The email you need for the day’s
top news stories from Canada and around the world.
On April 29, Durham Regional Police gave chase to a U-Haul cargo van officers said was fleeing an LCBO robbery in Clarington.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which is now investigating the fatal wreck, said the vehicle was pursued by police through the streets of Durham Region as it “drove erratically” before the vehicle got onto Highway 401.
Shortly after, the SIU said there was a multi-vehicle collision involving at least six vehicles on Highway 401, just east of Highway 412, in Whitby, resulting in the death of the child, aged three months, the grandmother, age 55, and the grandfather, age 60.
The grandparents were visiting from India to spend time with their grandson, while the parents were also in the vehicle and sustained injuries.
At the funeral, the baby’s aunt said although his life was cut tragically short, he is woven into the fabric of their lives forever.
“They say the first month with a newborn is hard, but Adi was different,” she said. “Content and calm, he rarely fussed. A loving rock from Ashwitha or a soother was all he needed.”
Over the weekend, his parents also spoke out, saying their family had been devastated by the loss.
“Our family is reeling from a devastating tragedy following a wrong-way crash involving a police chase,” read a statement Gokulnath Manivannan, the father.
“We are at a complete loss of words to describe the agony and vacuum in our hearts knowing we can never hold our child Aditya Vivaan, who gave us so many precious memories in such a short time, in our hands again.”
A 21-year-old man who the SIU said was driving the U-Haul chased by police died at the scene. A 38-year-old man, who was a passenger in the truck, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
At the funeral on Wednesday, the baby’s aunt said the memory of her nephew and parents would live on.
“There are going to be days when we are going to look for them in the corners of our home. There are going to be nights when we are going to be hearing for their laughter,” she wrote in her eulogy.
“It is on those days we have to remember the three of them are together.”
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
