In the wake of a tragic incident in Shawnigan Lake earlier this week, the Vancouver Island community is coming together in a major way.
Xavier Rasul-Jankovics has been identified as the 12-year-old boy who was struck and killed by a vehicle while rollerblading with family members on Monday night.
Police said speed was a factor in the fatal collision, which saw a Honda Civic driven by a 17-year-old hit Rasul-Jankovics before crashing into a telephone pole.
The young boy was a hockey player with Kerry Park Minor Hockey Association (KPMHA) and the organization said in a social media post this week that the “community has suffered a huge loss.”
“We will rely on each other to get through it while we support the family,” the post added. “Our thoughts are with them in this extremely difficult time.”
KPMHA also shared a GoFundMe that is raising money to “start a movement” by creating the Xavier Rasul-Jankovics Foundation.
“We lost a wise, wonderful soul who lit the lights of his family, his friends and an extended community, all of whom are grieving an enormous loss,” wrote GoFundMe creator Rory Capern, a close friend of the family.
He says there’s been “an outpouring of support” in the community and beyond, and they’re running out of room for flowers at the family’s home.
The GoFundMe gives people a chance to make a donation in a more focused manner.
“The Xavier Rasul-Jankovics Foundation will be directed by the family to support a series of initiatives in support of Xavier's spirit of positive community impact,” Capern explained through the fundraising page.
“We will provide more information for specific future initiatives in time. Thank you for supporting Xavier and his family at an unspeakably difficult time.”
As of this publication, just over $34,000 had been raised toward a $150,000 goal.
