BRAMPTON, Ont. — The woman killed along with her three young daughters in a multi-vehicle crash in Brampton, Ont., was identified Friday as Karolina Ciasullo, an elementary school teacher, while the investigation into the collision continued to unfold.
The Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board said Ciasullo, 37, taught Grade 4 at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Elementary School and offered its condolences to Ciasullo's husband and other family members.
Her daughters — aged six, four and one — also died after the Thursday afternoon crash, which is now being probed by the province's police watchdog.
The Special Investigations Unit said a 20-year-old man was also gravely injured in the crash, but was recovering in hospital.
The arm's-length agency said five investigators would be probing the collision.
The agency has said a Peel Regional Police officer had "observed" one of the vehicles involved in the crash before the incident.
As their investigation continued on Friday, condolences for Ciasullo and her family poured in.
Brampton's mayor, Patrick Brown, said the collision was a senseless tragedy.
"There's no word that can do justice to the magnitude of the loss," he said. "I can't even imagine. It's Father's Day this weekend, for that poor father who's lost his lovely wife, his six-year-old daughter, his four-year-old daughter, his nine-month-old daughter. It makes your stomach churn."
Premier Doug Ford also weighed in.
"It's absolutely heart-wrenching," he said. "Our prayers, our thoughts, are with you and your entire family. Justice will be served."
An online fundraiser set up for the family had raised more than $110,000 by Friday afternoon.
Bobby Garabet, who organized the GoFundMe, said his wife is best friends with Ciasullo's sister-in-law.
"They're just a tremendous, very, very kind, very sweet, very giving, phenomenal family," he said. "I couldn't say a bad word."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2020.
The Canadian Press
