Man charged in crash with Ontario Premier Doug Ford's vehicle now accused in fatal collision
A GoFundMe page by Christina Cristillo identifies her husband Andrew Cristillo as the victim of the fatal crash on Aug. 3 in Whitchurch-Stouffville, which also left her and their three daughters injured.
"He was an amazing, hands-on dad to our girls, always playing with them, teaching them, and making them laugh until their cheeks hurt," she wrote.
"Andrew had a wicked sense of humour and a way of lighting up every room he walked into — the life of the party, the friend everyone wanted by their side, the one who could make you smile even on your worst day. His greatest wish was for his family to be safe, happy, and cared for, and he worked tirelessly to give our daughters the best life and future he possibly could."
Their daughters now face life-altering injuries and Cristillo herself is in the midst of fighting breast cancer, she wrote.
OPP say the driver of the other vehicle in the head-on collision fled the scene but was found and arrested a short time later.
Jaiwin Kirubananthan was charged with dangerous driving causing death, three counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, failing to remain at an accident resulting in death and public mischief.
Police say Kirubananthan is the same person charged after a car hit an OPP vehicle Ford was travelling in on Highway 401 in January.
The collision happened as Ford was on his way back from an announcement at Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. The vehicle got "sideswiped," Ford said later that day.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2025.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
How a long U.S. border headache came to an end for N.B. golf course
A two-decade-long border security headache is finally over for a New Brunswick golf course tucked up against the U.S. border in the rolling hills of Victoria County. Canadian golfers now have a safe, legal and all-Canadian route to the picturesque Aroostook Valley Country Club near Perth-Andover. "The future of our club is back and very bright, and the club is vibrant," said Stephen Leitch, the club manager and golf pro. Leitch credits a Canadian family that itself had to put up with the U.S. crackdown on the once-relaxed border area. "I just went, 'You know what — this is never going to change,'" said Mary Pedersen, a Fredericton physician who grew up down the road — the American road – from the course. "So I said, 'I'll donate the land.'" Pedersen and her family transferred a strip of land running along the Canadian side of the border to create a trail that golfers use to shuttle into and out of the course on golf carts. The trail is named for her parents, Nickolaj and Marion Pedersen, who lived on the same road. The travails of the golf course, and the Pedersens, made headlines in the years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 prompted U.S. authorities to declare an "Orange Alert" security level along the Canada-U.S. border. For decades, Canadian golfers, and people heading to the Pedersen home, turned left onto the Russell Road, which follows the north-south border line. The road is entirely within U.S. territory in front of the Pedersen homestead and the club, but pre-9/11, Canadians didn't need to check in with U.S. authorities to drive there. Golfers would park in a club parking lot on the U.S. side of the border and walk to the clubhouse in Canada — another technically illegal crossing. WATCH | 'It's just been phenomenal': Trail donation ends border block: After 2001, security officials became less willing to tolerate that. The Pedersens endured U.S. border patrol enforcement against family members, mail carriers and newspaper carriers. Marion died in 2004 and Nick in 2009. Golfers, meanwhile, began making a time-consuming detour through the official U.S. entry point at Fort Fairfield, Maine, to get to the club. But the border shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to that work-around, leaving Leitch wondering if the club could survive. "There were jobs on the line, and actually the lifeline of the golf club was on the line," he said. "What was once very advantageous to us in the way we were able to draw, in a very rural area, golfers from both sides of the border … has been met with some challenges, the fact that people aren't able to access the golf club the way they once were." For a while, golfers would come down a back road through a potato field to the Pedersen property, with permission from the field's owner, Grand Falls-based Dubé Farms. From there they'd shuttle to the club in golf carts zipping down the shoulder of the Russell Road, hugging Canadian territory. "It was not ideal," said Lynn Dooling, the reigning women's champion at the club. Leitch calls it "a bad situation in the way that we were driving against traffic, on a blind hill, and probably doing harm to the edge of the road." Leitch asked Pedersen for help, and she decided to transfer the land for a trail running along the Russell Road a few feet within Canada. It created a happy ending for the tiny Canadian community of neighbours on this U.S. road. "We grew up together. It was heartbreaking seeing all that happen," Pedersen said of the 20-plus years of hassles. "I just feel really, really happy giving this land to them. I know Mum and Dad would have been extremely happy to see it." The club held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the trail with her and her son Mark in July. "It made all the difference for them to donate this land and be able to build this road and drive straight out to the club house," Dooling said. "It's just been phenomenal." Americans, who used to make up about half of the club's membership, are now the ones who must cross the border through a legal checkpoint and take the long way around to the club. Leitch said this has affected membership numbers among Maine residents near the club, but business is good for American green-fee golfers — visitors to the state who come up to experience the novelty of the course and its scenic location for a day or two. As he prepares for the club's centennial celebrations in 2029, Leitch said the oddity of the setting, and the unusual way of getting there, could become part of the appeal. "There's not that many places where you have to shuttle in to the golf course over that distance on a golf cart to play such a beautiful course," he said. "But when you come up over the hill after driving through that potato field, and you wonder to yourself, 'Where in the heck are we going,' and … you see this oasis, you say 'Oh, this is why,' and that's exactly what's happening. People are finding a charm in that."
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
RCMP widen search in P.E.I. car-shooting incident with underwater recovery team
P.E.I. RCMP say their Underwater Recovery Team has been added to the investigation into an incident in western P.E.I. last week that killed a man and injured a Summerside woman, who later died in hospital. In a news release Friday morning, RCMP said the team was deployed Thursday to search waters around the Island, including lakes, ponds, streams, and coastal areas. The team is a specialized RCMP unit made up of police officers who are trained divers. They focus on recovering evidence and bodies from aquatic environments, playing a crucial role in investigations involving submerged victims or evidence, the release said. Cpl. Ellen Peters, media relations officer for the P.E.I. RCMP, said the Underwater Recovery Team expands the scope of the search. "We're using police dog services, drones and officers with boots on the ground to search the land areas, and now we are adding the ability to search lakes, ponds, streams and into the ocean if needed to find evidence that may contribute to this investigation," Peters was quoted as saying in the release. The incident occurred around 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 8, on Hackmatack Road in Urbainville, near Wellington. Police have said the targeted shooting into a car on a dirt section of the road killed a 35-year-old man, believed to be the driver of the 2008 Toyota Corolla. The car then rolled over and hit a utility pole. A female passenger from Summerside, 50, was seriously injured in the crash and later died. Police have said they believe another vehicle was on Hackmatack Road at the time, and a perpetrator fled the scene. On Wednesday, RCMP released a photo of a car they say "may be connected" to the incident. The vehicle is a white, four-door 2007 Honda Accord, and could have the P.E.I. licence plate 202NX, the police force said. No arrests have been made. Police have not named a suspect in the case. RCMP have not identified either of the victims. Police are asking anyone with information about the incident or the vehicle to contact Prince District RCMP at 902-853-9300 or 902-436-9300. People who want to stay anonymous are asked to call P.E.I. Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). RCMP have also launched an online portal where the public can anonymously share images or video related to the case.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
How a long U.S. border headache came to an end for N.B. golf course
A two-decade-long border security headache is finally over for a New Brunswick golf course tucked up against the U.S. border in the rolling hills of Victoria County. Canadian golfers now have a safe, legal and all-Canadian route to the picturesque Aroostook Valley Country Club near Perth-Andover. "The future of our club is back and very bright, and the club is vibrant," said Stephen Leitch, the club manager and golf pro. Leitch credits a Canadian family that itself had to put up with the U.S. crackdown on the once-relaxed border area. "I just went, 'You know what — this is never going to change,'" said Mary Pedersen, a Fredericton physician who grew up down the road — the American road – from the course. "So I said, 'I'll donate the land.'" Pedersen and her family transferred a strip of land running along the Canadian side of the border to create a trail that golfers use to shuttle into and out of the course on golf carts. The trail is named for her parents, Nickolaj and Marion Pedersen, who lived on the same road. The travails of the golf course, and the Pedersens, made headlines in the years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 prompted U.S. authorities to declare an "Orange Alert" security level along the Canada-U.S. border. For decades, Canadian golfers, and people heading to the Pedersen home, turned left onto the Russell Road, which follows the north-south border line. The road is entirely within U.S. territory in front of the Pedersen homestead and the club, but pre-9/11, Canadians didn't need to check in with U.S. authorities to drive there. Golfers would park in a club parking lot on the U.S. side of the border and walk to the clubhouse in Canada — another technically illegal crossing. WATCH | 'It's just been phenomenal': Trail donation ends border block: After 2001, security officials became less willing to tolerate that. The Pedersens endured U.S. border patrol enforcement against family members, mail carriers and newspaper carriers. Marion died in 2004 and Nick in 2009. Golfers, meanwhile, began making a time-consuming detour through the official U.S. entry point at Fort Fairfield, Maine, to get to the club. But the border shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to that work-around, leaving Leitch wondering if the club could survive. "There were jobs on the line, and actually the lifeline of the golf club was on the line," he said. "What was once very advantageous to us in the way we were able to draw, in a very rural area, golfers from both sides of the border … has been met with some challenges, the fact that people aren't able to access the golf club the way they once were." For a while, golfers would come down a back road through a potato field to the Pedersen property, with permission from the field's owner, Grand Falls-based Dubé Farms. From there they'd shuttle to the club in golf carts zipping down the shoulder of the Russell Road, hugging Canadian territory. "It was not ideal," said Lynn Dooling, the reigning women's champion at the club. Leitch calls it "a bad situation in the way that we were driving against traffic, on a blind hill, and probably doing harm to the edge of the road." Leitch asked Pedersen for help, and she decided to transfer the land for a trail running along the Russell Road a few feet within Canada. It created a happy ending for the tiny Canadian community of neighbours on this U.S. road. "We grew up together. It was heartbreaking seeing all that happen," Pedersen said of the 20-plus years of hassles. "I just feel really, really happy giving this land to them. I know Mum and Dad would have been extremely happy to see it." The club held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the trail with her and her son Mark in July. "It made all the difference for them to donate this land and be able to build this road and drive straight out to the club house," Dooling said. "It's just been phenomenal." Americans, who used to make up about half of the club's membership, are now the ones who must cross the border through a legal checkpoint and take the long way around to the club. Leitch said this has affected membership numbers among Maine residents near the club, but business is good for American green-fee golfers — visitors to the state who come up to experience the novelty of the course and its scenic location for a day or two. As he prepares for the club's centennial celebrations in 2029, Leitch said the oddity of the setting, and the unusual way of getting there, could become part of the appeal. "There's not that many places where you have to shuttle in to the golf course over that distance on a golf cart to play such a beautiful course," he said. "But when you come up over the hill after driving through that potato field, and you wonder to yourself, 'Where in the heck are we going,' and … you see this oasis, you say 'Oh, this is why,' and that's exactly what's happening. People are finding a charm in that."
