The family of a four-year-old girl struck and killed by a GO train last week in Mississauga is speaking out for the first time since the tragedy.
“Mitchell is an angel, she talks like an angel. Mitchell is acting like an angel,” her father Emmanuel Nwabuoku told CP24 on Tuesday morning.
Emanuel said he, his wife and their three children, Olivia, Paris and Mitchell, were at his brother’s apartment in Mississauga on July 26 before the unthinkable happened.
“Normally my daughter is with me, but because it was ice cream day, they went with their sister down to the park,” he said. “Just 15 minutes later we got the call that she couldn’t breathe anymore and we ran straight away.”
Around 7:40 p.m., emergency services were called to the area of Dundas Street and Cawthra Road for reports of a child struck by a GO train.
Emanuel says his children were chasing a butterfly before his youngest daughter walked across the aisle and onto the train tracks, where she was hit by an oncoming train.
“They said they followed a butterfly. They were playing in the park and chased the butterfly to this place. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t hear anything else. Only to see my daughter lifeless on the floor,” Emmanuel said.
Just before 9pm, Peel Police confirmed Mitchell was pronounced dead at the scene.
Metrolinx, which operates the GO train service, said about 300 passengers were aboard the train when the child was struck.
A witness who owns a nearby garage told CP24 he was working at the time of the incident when he heard a train honking and a loud squeal of a railroad brake.
“When I came out of my garage, I saw that the train had stopped. This has never happened before,” Muhammad Tayyab said.
“Three children were screaming and crying very loudly. I was shocked. I ran there… I see the body, there was a child on the side… They are very badly injured.”
Area residents spoke to CP24 after the incident and said the lack of barriers in front of the train tracks is a known problem and that it’s not unusual to see people crossing the tracks.
Mitchell was born in 2017 in Dallas, Texas and her family moved to Canada in 2018.
Emmanuelle says she was a happy child who brought joy to everyone’s life.
“Mitchell is a vibrant person. Mitchell is a jovial man. Mitchell touched lives… Mitchell can’t go to sleep without hugging everyone. Mitchell can’t do anything without giving Daddy a kiss. Because Mitchell is daddy’s princess. Mitchell is everything to us,” he said.
Emmanuel is not only dealing with the loss of her child, but also the loss of her mother, who died two days before Mitchell’s death.
Emmanuel said that’s why his family is staying with his brothers while they plan his mother’s funeral.
He added that there are no words to explain the pain of losing his child, but he thanked everyone for their love and support.
“What can I say… I know what it means to lose a child. For those who weep for us, God will comfort each one of us.
Mitchell’s funeral was held in Mississauga at Turner & Porter Funeral Home on Tuesday morning.
With files from CP24’s Joshua Freeman and CTV News Toronto’s Phil Tsekouras
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