Photo: Pat McGrath, Ottawa Citizen
Source: Brockville Recorder and Times
ONTARIO - Students and staff at Chesterville Public School here are mourning the loss of a dynamic and warmhearted Grade 3 teacher.
Krista Taylor, 30, who was also well-known by students and teachers in the Brockville and Cardinal areas, was killed in a three-vehicle crash early Wednesday on Roger Stevens Drive at Rideau Valley Road North near Ottawa.
She lived in nearby North Gower with her fiancé Andrew Giffin, who grew up in Mallorytown.
Taylor was on her way to work when she was killed.
"(She was) a teacher who really got it," said Debbie Banks, principal at Chesterville Public School.
"She cared for kids and was a bright and shining star at Chesterville Public School," said Banks.
"She made a huge impact in a very short period of time."
Taylor will also be remembered by staff and students at Lyn Public School, where she was a teacher between 2005 and 2007, and at Commonwealth Public School.
Prior to joining the staff in Chesterville in September, Taylor taught for one year at Benson Public in Cardinal.
Taylor and Giffin became engaged last January and had been in the process of planning their wedding for next August, Andrew Giffin's mother Helen Giffin of Addison told The Recorder and Times on Friday.
"Everyone thought they were a perfect match. They bought the house in North Gower in September," she said, adding they had just moved in. "She loved the house and loved the area," said Helen Giffin.
"She was definitely the love of his life," Giffin said of her son, a computer engineer working in Ottawa.
"We're struggling. Thirty years old. She was such a sweetheart, so bubbly," she said.
"It just doesn't seem real." Helen Giffin noted Taylor was originally from Deep River, the daughter of Donald and Sandra Taylor. Taylor and Giffin had been dating for three years and everyone was looking forward to the wedding, said Helen Giffin.
"It was a dream story and now it's a nightmare. It's like something you see on TV and you think, those poor people. Then, all of a sudden, it's you," said Giffin.
"I told my son don't be ashamed to cry because she certainly was worth a lot of tears."
Upper Canada District School Board communications manager Terry Simzer said Friday a crisis response team was called in to Chesterville Public School immediately. "They know what to look for if it appears a child needs professional counselling," said Simzer. "They are, and will, continue to be in mourning," Simzer said of the Chesterville school family.
Principal Sandy McInnes, from Russell and Cambridge Public schools, was called in to take over for Banks so she could spend more time with students and staff, Simzer said.
Taylor had been travelling east on Roger Stevens Drive when the collision occurred. Her vehicle clipped a car in front of her and then entered the westbound lane where it was struck by a westbound pickup truck. The truck driver received minor injuries.
The collision remains under investigation and investigators were trying to determine if road conditions or the weather had anything to do with the crash.
A wake for Taylor is being held Sunday from 2 to 4 p. m. at the Lee Cummings Funeral in North Gower. A funeral service is being held Monday at 1 p. m.
Source: Ottawa Citizen
Woman killed in collision on Roger Stevens Drive in Kars, ON
ONTARIO - A 30-year-old woman has died following a three-vehicle collision that closed part of Roger Stevens Drive Wednesday morning.
Reports indicate the fatal crash happened on a curve just east of Rideau Valley Drive North around 7 a.m. The woman, headed eastbound, lost control of her car. It clipped another car, then swerved into oncoming traffic, striking a westbound pickup truck.
Paramedics said the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The male driver of the pickup truck suffered minor injuries. The other driver involved was unharmed.
Roger Stevens was closed between Rideau Valley Drive South and River Road, east of Kars. Police were asking people to avoid the area. The road is expected to remain closed for some time.
Police collision investigators were investigating.
Kars is 40 kilometres south of downtown Ottawa.
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