Squamish church, community come together to mourn 2-year-old, donations pour in for family

SQUAMISH (NEWS 1130) — A Squamish community is in mourning after a two-year-old girl died tragically Friday evening after being hit by a car in a grocery store parking lot.

The family are members of The Rock Church, where the congregation is made up mainly of young couples with children.

Pastor Glenn Davies addressed the toddler’s death during Sunday’s service.

“Normally on Sunday morning she’d be running up and down the stairs to Sunday school and she’s not here today,” he says. “They’re a really tight-knit, loving family. The grandparents had recently moved here to be with their son and grandchildren. The grief there is really, really heavy.”

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A memorial with flowers and stuffed animals has been set up at the site of the accident. Davies says there has an overwhelming outpouring of support and concern, and a GoFundMe page had raised more than $30,000 for the family as of Monday.

“We actually had people at our church gathering today that are just from the community–non-Christians, not church-goers–who just had to come,” Davies says. “Every mom, especially with a small child, their hearts are broken over this. There’s a lot of grief, and a lot of questions.”

He was with the family at the hospital on Friday night and asked those gathered at the church to say a prayer for first-responders and medical staff.

“These people were unbelievable. I mean, the nurses, the doctors and what they had to struggle with was really hard. But they’re just incredible people. And so our hearts are reaching out to them. We’re praying for them this morning. We’re praying for our community at large.”