R.I.D.E. Check Held In Memory Of Scarborough Mother Killed By Drunk Driver
Posted July 11, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
One year ago Friday night, on July 11, 2007, Yan Zhang was killed by a drunk driver, her three-year-old boy left breathing in the accident’s wake, but suffering from serious head injuries which resulted in permanent brain damage.
On Friday, on McCowan south of Eglinton near the site of the tragic crash, Toronto Police held a R.I.D.E. check, hoping to honour the 36-year-old Scarborough mother and prevent anyone else from suffering a similar fate.
“Left a father without his wife and struggling to cope with a severely injured child as a result of a completely preventable situation of drinking and driving,” said Toronto Police Sgt. Tim Burrows.
The impact reportedly knocked the toddler out of his shoes. The tragedy led Zhang’s husband to donate more than $10,000 from the family’s trust fund to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
“He said, ‘You know I’ll donate half of whatever I make for education and prevention.'” recalled MADD’s Mary Sultana. “We were very touched really because we know he needed the money too.”
Dragan Gorgijevski, 56, was convicted in April and is serving a three-year prison sentence after spending nine months in pre-trial custody.
