‘Replay that day thousands of times’: Heart-wrenching week for families, survivors at van attack sentencing

It has been an emotional day as loved ones of those who died and those who survived delivered victim impact statements at a sentencing hearing for the man behind the deadly van attack in 2018.

The hearing for Alek Minassian, who deliberately drove a van down a North York sidewalk, killing 10 people and injuring 16 others more than four years ago, began Monday.

It’s expected to be a heart-wrenching week for families and survivors of the victims, who will have an opportunity to make victim impact statements to the court on how the attack affected them.

The 10 people killed in the April rampage were Ji Hun Kim, 22; So He Chung, 22; Anne Marie D’Amico, 30; Andrea Bradden, 33; Chul Min “Eddie” Kang, 45; Renuka Amarasingha, 45; Dorothy Sewell, 80; Geraldine Brady, 83; Munir Najjar, 85; and Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Forsyth, 94.

Sentencing at the University courthouse in Toronto may last up to a week.

CityNews reporters will be live at the court house in Toronto. Follow along here:

Robert Forsyth told the court about his aunt, Betty Forsyth, who he called a “walking library” of family information. He said “her presence and many untold stories are lost forever.”

Renuka Amarasingha’s son was only five years old when his mother was killed in the attack. A crayon drawing by her son, who is now nine, was shown on the screen during the hearing, depicting two people holding hands.

Janet Jiang cried as she spoke about giving CPR to a woman who was hit and watching as she died.

“I replay that day thousands of times, questioning if I could have done things differently and if she would still be here today,” she said.

Justice Anne Molloy, who has presided over the case, thanked those who spoke as she wiped away tears.

“I admire your courage. I am so sorry this happened to you,” she told Jiang.

Another woman named Tanya, one of the first people on the scene, also attempted CPR on the victims, saying, “I was the last one to see them alive.”

“When I close my eyes and think of what happened, I see the victims, their fears, the confusion and hear the panic in their voices.”

Jun Seok Park, who survived the attack, was in a coma for more than five weeks and said she continues to have nightmares.

“A stranger … attacked us with a van to kill us, without any reason.”

Tina, another one of the survivors, said she can’t sleep at night, and the memories of the attack still haunt her.

“The visual memory of this van and myself in front of the driver has traumatized me,” she said.

Another victim, Samantha, was walking with her friend Anne Marie D’Amico who was killed in the van attack, said she continues to fear for her safety and has survivor’s guilt.

“Every night, I go to bed not feeling safe,” she said.

Through his tears, the father of D’Amico said the “destruction and pain inflicted on my family and others is unspeakable. I long for the day this pain might diminish.”

“You took my beautiful baby girl away from me. She was at the prime of her life,” her mother said. “I’m still struggling four years later to find my new normal without her.”

Diane Sullivan’s friend, So He Chung, who was killed in the van attack, said when you were with So He, she would make you feel special.

“I can’t fathom how many lives were affected by this event. I can only tell you I will never be the same because [she] is no longer walking on this earth.”

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Initially, Minassian was found guilty of 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder last year for the April 23, 2018 attack.

However, he was scheduled to be sentenced on just one count as Justice Anne Molloy elected to wait until a key Supreme Court of Canada decision about sentencing rules on multiple murders that allowed sentences to be consecutive.

Last month, Canada’s highest court ruled that the sentence for Quebec City mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonnette is unconstitutional.

Bissonnette was given a life sentence and parole ineligibility period of 25 years to be served sequentially for each murder. The court declared the 2011 provision violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Bissonnette will now be eligible to request parole in 20 years, having already spent five years in prison.

The ruling means Minassian will be sentenced to life without parole for 25 years. Had the Supreme Court upheld the 2011 law, he would likely have faced consecutive 25-year ineligibility periods.

While Minassian was found guilty of 10 first-degree murders, another victim, Amaresh Tesfamariam, died last November from injuries sustained in the attack on April 23, 2018.

With files from Faiza Amin and Momin Qureshi or CityNews, and The Canadian Press