The uncle of a 14-year-old girl killed in a car crash on an upper New York State highway Sunday cradled her younger sister as he brought her back from the U.S. hospital where her mother and grandmother were still recovering.
Camille Rabay brought his nine-year-old niece Joelle Rabay back to Ottawa on Monday, a day after a shopping trip in New York State turned tragic when the SUV driven by Joelle’s father Joseph Rabay slammed into a guide rail and flipped down a steep embankment.
Joelle’s 14-year-old sister, Carine, was killed.
“I held her, pampered her,” Camille Rabay said. “She loves me. She’s very close to me.”
Joelle’s mother Colette Rabay, 44, underwent surgery and was in critical condition Tuesday in the intensive care unit at the Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. Joelle’s 77-year-old grandmother Salwa Rabay was listed in fair condition in the same hospital.
“I’m sick to my stomach, but somebody has to be strong for the family,” Camille Rabay said on Tuesday.
The girls’ father was relatively unscathed in the crash, which was sill under investigation by New York State Police. He was walking around the hospital when relatives arrived but seemed to be in denial about the death of his daughter as he waited for news on his wife and his mother.
Camille Rabay said he had the daunting task of telling his 15-year-old nephew Joe that his sister was dead and his mother critically injured.
“I had to go tell him,” an emotional Rabay said, wiping his eyes.
But the 15-year-old is strong, his uncle said, and has already started a social media campaign to encourage drivers and passengers in vehicles to wear their seat belts.
Teachers and Carine’s classmates at Frank Ryan Catholic Intermediate School gathered in the school’s chapel to share their memories and wore pink clothing to honour the teenager described by her family simply as an “angel” known for her beautiful singing voice and piano-playing talent.
Although she was too young to think about auditioning for Canadian Idol, she told her family she hoped one day to pursue a music career.
Carine’s musical talents were fondly remembered by the friends and relatives who stopped by the auto shop owned by the Rabay family to offer their condolences.
Close friends and relatives also flooded the homes of Carine’s large extended family members.
