Community members are coming together to mourn a loss and rally support for a family after a four-year-old boy died after being struck by a bus driver in Horseshoe Bay last Wednesday.
West Vancouver police responded to a crash at Keith Road and Bay Street around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 28, where three pedestrians were reported “to be pinned beneath a transit bus,” according to a release from West Van police.
Firefighters and paramedics were on scene to provide life-saving efforts for the three individuals, police said in a statement last week. Four-year-old Leonardo Machado died on scene. His mother, Silvana Schramm, is still in the hospital but in stable condition. The second woman, who is believed to be a family friend, was also taken to the hospital and is in stable condition.
Theresa Morrison, a friend and co-worker of the boy’s father, launched a GoFundMe Sunday to raise funds to help the family with funeral and transportation expenses and ongoing rehabilitation for the mother.
Morrison has been overwhelmed by how much support she is seeing from the community to help the family.
“Just knowing how many people have been touched by this tragedy, I know … the message that [the father] has for everyone right now is that tragedies can and do bring people together, and tragedies can defeat you or you can succeed them,” Morrison said.
Morrison and her husband are owners of AJ’s Brooklyn Pizza Joint in Vancouver, where the boy's father, Clineu Machado, has worked for the last four years.
The mother and son reportedly spent the day on Bowen Island before the tragic crash.
“On that beautiful Wednesday she wanted to adventure with Leonardo to Bowen Island for the day, as they loved to travel and see new things,” the GoFundMe post reads. “They had a wonderful day, sharing pictures with Leonardo’s father throughout.”
Leonardo’s parents are from Brazil but have been Canadian citizens and made Vancouver their home for many years. Now, the family is faced with the difficult decision to bring Leonardo home to Brazil for burial, if the mother can travel, or bring family members to Canada to say their final goodbyes.
As of Tuesday morning, more than $120,000 had been raised to go towards the family, far surpassing their initial goal of $65,000.
“My team, the AJ family, they’re very close, a number of [employees] who’ve worked together for many years, and so this has certainly impacted them,” Morrison said. “We’re leaning on each other and supporting each other as best as we can.”
Support and mourning in West Vancouver community
Since the crash, the aftermath has been felt by people across the community.
A memorial has been growing on the Keith Road and Bay Street intersection with flowers and stuffed animals, steps away from where the fatal crash happened.
Last week, West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager and municipal staff shared their condolences on the accident and thanked first responders for their efforts.
“The accident is a horrible tragedy and sad beyond all measure,” Sager said. “On behalf of all of council, I want to express that our heartfelt thoughts are with the families and all those impacted. I would also like to express gratitude to everyone helping at this very difficult and unthinkably sad time.”
The Horseshoe Bay Business Association is also pitching in to help, rescheduling their annual Taste of the Bay event with proceeds going to the family.
Originally set to take place on the day of the crash, the event features dozens of businesses and musicians in the commercial district of Horseshoe Bay, where people can walk around and explore.
Despite the heartbreaking incident, president of the business association Megan Sewell said she’s noticed how the community is uniting together to help those impacted.
“It was a very tragic event that impacted everyone here in Horseshoe Bay, whether they were physically here or not, it definitely hits home for a lot of people,” Sewell said. “The one thing that’s special about Horseshoe Bay is how resilient our community is. We always unite together to make it through whatever the struggle might be.”
“I’m watching people put flowers down by the incident. You can just see that empathy and love and support the different members of the community are giving one another as they hold space for the family and the victims that witnessed the tragic incident,” she added.
Taste of the Bay will run Wednesday, June 11 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets will be sold at Blenz and Tolls, she said.
Police investigation continues
As the community helps raise funds, West Vancouver police are continuing their investigation into the cause of the crash.
The local police department is working with Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service (ICARS) and the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE) branch. The ICARS unit conducts forensic reconstruction of collisions that result in serious injury or death, from Pemberton to Boston Bar.
Police said last week while the investigation is in the early stages, speed was not a contributing factor. The bus was taken in for a mechanical inspection.
The bus driver was identified as a TransLink employee and is fully co-operating with investigators.
Sgt. Chris Bigland said that the investigation will likely be completed six months from now.
Support available
There are a number of support services available to help those affected by the tragedy.
Anyone who directly witnessed or was involved in last week’s incident can call West Vancouver police victim services line at 604-925-7468. The BC Mental Health & Crisis Response line is also available for those struggling with the aftermath of the event at 310-6789 (no area code needed).
West Vancouver police ask witnesses or those who were in the area and have footage to call their non-emergency line at 604-925-7300, quoting file number #25-5042.
- With file from Alanna Kelly
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
https://bsky.app/profile/abbyluciano.bsky.social
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