Woman in Vancouver to visit her sons among festival fatalities
Maria Victoria Bjarnason, or Vicky as she was known to most people, has been identified as one of the 11 people killed in Saturday's vehicle attack at the Vancouver Lapu Lapu Day street festival.
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Bjarnason was visiting her two sons, Helgi and Thor, in Vancouver.
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She was out at the Filipino festival on Saturday with Helgi and a friend of Helgi's when tragedy struck.
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'Helgi was holding his mother's hand and attempted to pull her away from the car, but unfortunately she was ripped away from him and tragically killed,' said Kristjan Bjarnason, Bjarnason's step-son.
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Bjarnason loved her sons — Helgi, 27, and Thor, 28 — 'more than the world,' he said in a GoFundMe to raise funds for funeral costs and to help support her sons as they grieve.
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The sons plan to take Bjarnason home to the Philippines where she can be laid to rest with family.
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Bjarnason lived in Cavite, south of Manila. The local Kiwanis Club posted a tribute to her, describing her as a 'true advocate for the youth.'
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