A young Barrie native is being remembered as someone with a “big heart” and a “fearless personality” following his tragic death on Saturday.
Ethan Hayes-Laverdière, 20, was killed Sept. 14 after the vehicle he was a passenger in crashed along 15/16 Sideroad, between Line 5 and Line 6 in Oro-Medonte, approximately 15 minutes northeast of Barrie.
Hayes-Laverdière came from a “very close family of all boys,” according to a colleague of the young man’s mother and one of his brother’s.
A social-media post by Barrie resident Jenn AIlan, sharing the online fundraiser, described the family as being “pretty special.”
“This is an unbelievable (and) tragic story that no family should face. Send love and support if you can,” wrote Allan.
Allan said that while she never had the pleasure of meeting Ethan, her cousin has been dating one of his brothers and his father taught her child prior to his retirement.
“This family … is just beaming with so much love and kindness,” she said. “This family is made up of two sets of twins, all boys and dedicated parents who went to baseball tryouts the next day of this tragedy to show up for their youngest kid, who is friends with my little (one).”
Erica Bailey has known Hayes-Laverdière, who attended Frère-André Catholic Elementary School in Barrie and then Nouvelle-Alliance for high school, and his family for many years.
She said that Hayes-Laverdière, along with most of his siblings, attended her mother’s basketball camps many years ago. He also volunteered at the camp once he was old enough.
"I also taught Ethan and a number of his siblings, and have worked alongside his mother who is active in the school community. It’s such a tragedy," Bailey said.
"Ethan was extremely outgoing and athletic, always had a smile on his face and was kind to everyone," she added. "Being from such a large family, you’d think it would be difficult to raise polite and kind children, but Stephanie and Bill did it and made it look easy. All of their children are wonderful — Ethan was no exception."
A GoFundMe page, organized by the social committee at Frère-André school, has been created to help the family. As of noon today, it had raised $12,700 of its $15,000 goal.
“Ethan definitely left a big impact in this world and will be remembered for his smile, his strut, his helpfulness, his singing, his big heart and his fearless personality,” stated a paragraph on the GoFundMe page. “In light of the challenges faced by the Hayes-Laverdière family, our school community has come together to offer our support. We hope to alleviate some of their burden during this difficult time by raising funds through this GoFundMe page.”
Emergency crews responded to the collision scene shortly after 1 a.m. on Saturday and found a vehicle with extensive damage.
As a result of the crash, the male driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The passenger, who has since been identified as Hayes-Laverdière, was pronounced dead at the scene, Orillia OPP said earlier this week in a news release.
The driver, whose name has not been released, has been charged with dangerous operation causing death and operation while impaired (blood-alcohol concentration 80-plus).
