CALGARY — The father of a six-year old girl who died after being hit by a light-rail transit train says she wandered off as her mother was getting their children ready for school.
The girl, who has been identified in a GoFundMe page as Efua Ogbeide, was struck by the train on Monday morning at an intersection near a Calgary CTrain station. She was rushed to hospital where she died from her injuries.
The girl’s father, Jeff Ogbeide, told CTV Calgary that his daughter wandered off as her mom was getting her and the other children dressed for school.
“She went upstairs to grab a school bag and by the time she came back downstairs the door was open,” he said.
Ogbeide said his wife told him that the school bus was there when she came outside and that she waved and the bus left.
His wife didn’t know whether she was on the bus so he called the school to make sure. When no one answered, he drove to the school to check whether she made it safely.
“I got to the school and they said she was not on the bus and she’s not at school,” said Ogbeide.
They later learned she had been hit by the train and taken to hospital.
Ogbeide said they didn’t know she had left the home, which is a few blocks from the LRT station.
Her father said she has never left like that before and was never allowed to walk alone.
“She did not go to school all by herself. My daughter doesn’t go to school by herself,” he said. “The bus always comes to pick her up right in front of my house.”
Officials with the Calgary Catholic School District have confirmed the girl attended St. Jude, an elementary school in the southwest neighbourhood of Woodbine.
“A letter was sent home to families,” Joanna French, a spokeswoman for the school district, said Tuesday. “We would just let them know of an incident that took place and to keep the family in their thoughts and prayers.”
She wouldn’t say what grade the girl was in for privacy reasons.
French said members of the district’s critical incident response team were sent to the school to provide counselling for any students or staff struggling with what happened.
The Woodcreek Community Association, which includes the Woodlands and Woodbine communities, also expressed sadness on Facebook.
“This will be a tough time for our littlest community members,” said the post. “Let’s endeavour to show extra kindness, as we hold them all in our hearts.”
The association declined to comment further. (CTV Calgary, The Canadian Press)
