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CBC
Logging truck victims mourned
WebPosted Nov 15 2004 04:31 PM PST
VANCOUVER - A large turnout is expected for Tuesday's funeral of the West Vancouver mother and daughter killed last week in a logging truck accident on the Upper Levels Highway.
Crash scene on Upper Levels Highway
Fifty-three-year-old Farida Manji and her only child, 26-year-old Shaireen Manji, were killed after a logging truck lost control and the logs crushed their car.
FROM NOV. 12, 2004: Deadly truck crash under investigation
Family cousin Karim Manji says the two women – who ran a pharmacy in Burnaby – were active in the Ismaili community, and were well known for their volunteer work.
"They were both very optimistic people, never had a negative thought in their heads, always willing to help people and did a fair amount of volunteer work within our community."
Manjii also says Farida Manji was one of the founders of the Aga Khan Foundation's annual fundraising walk.
"It's a walk that's held every last Sunday in May at Stanley Park, and this year we raised over a million dollars in Vancouver," he says.
Manji won't say if the family is considering legal action against the driver of the logging truck. He says the focus is now on helping the family deal with their loss.
"The loss of two people within our family has devastated our family, and we're now just trying to regroup and start the process of healing slowly."
Farida Manji and 26-year-old Shaireen Manji
The day their dreams ended in tragedy
Mother and daughter were friends and business partners
Frank Luba
The Province
November 16, 2004
CREDIT: Nick Procaylo, The Province
Family photo of Farida and Shaireen Manji, who were killed when a truck lost its load of logs, which struck their car, on the Upper Levels Highway.
CREDIT: Nick Procaylo, The Province
A roadside memorial to the victims.
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Farida Manji and her 26-year-old daughter Shaireen were 10 minutes from their West Vancouver home, on their way to the business they operated together, when their lives and dreams ended in a freak accident on the Upper Levels Highway.
Karim Manji, the cousin of Farida's husband Nizar, knows the area where the accident occurred and yesterday he recalled what happened last Thursday evening.
"You don't give it too much thought -- except hoping it isn't someone you know," said Karim.
He got the bad news Friday, that the accident that choked North Shore traffic for half a day had claimed family members.
"I was in complete shock," said Manji. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be someone I knew, let alone relatives."
The transport ministry and West Vancouver police continue to investigate the accident, in which a logging truck lost its load of giant cedar logs. The logs plunged over the concrete highway divider into eastbound traffic, crushing the grey sedan in which the mother and daughter were travelling.
The women's deaths obliterated a dream, said Manji.
Farida, 53, had come to Canada from Kenya in 1981. The family moved from Richmond to Burnaby before settling in West Vancouver.
Shaireen had graduated from Meadow Ridge, a private school in Pitt Meadows, before heading off to McGill University in Montreal where she obtained a B.A. in international development with a minor in economics.
She returned to the Lower Mainland a year ago and opened the Well Health Pharmacy, with her mother as pharmacist and Shaireen running the business.
"She was interested in international development but she also had a strong mind for business, which goes to the economics degree," said Manji. "She felt at this time she wanted to get into business. She had a great vision for her business, according to her father.
"Her dreams were to make this initial one a success and then start opening up some other satellite pharmacies around the Lower Mainland."
Manji said mother and daughter were close.
"Just by opening the business together kind of typified what kind of relationship they had. They travelled together. They loved spending time together. The relationship was fairly deep."
The afternoon they died was an example of that relationship.
"From what we understand, they were going to the business to spend a couple of hours on the holiday, just cleaning up, re-arranging, kind of getting ready for Christmas and setting up decorations, that kind of thing," said Manji. "They were heading there for a few hours before they were to meet some friends for dinner."
It's too early for the family to say whether there should be a criminal investigation, or changes to the road or trucking rules.
"To be honest, I think our focus has been mainly on supporting each other, having friends support us and getting through the process," said Manji.
The process continues this morning with a funeral at the Ismaili Lions Gate Jamathkhana.
A crowd of 1,500-2,000 mourners is expected.
fluba@png.canwest.com
Mother and daughter were friends and business partners
Frank Luba
The Province
November 16, 2004
CREDIT: Nick Procaylo, The Province
Family photo of Farida and Shaireen Manji, who were killed when a truck lost its load of logs, which struck their car, on the Upper Levels Highway.
CREDIT: Nick Procaylo, The Province
A roadside memorial to the victims.
ADVERTISEMENT
Farida Manji and her 26-year-old daughter Shaireen were 10 minutes from their West Vancouver home, on their way to the business they operated together, when their lives and dreams ended in a freak accident on the Upper Levels Highway.
Karim Manji, the cousin of Farida's husband Nizar, knows the area where the accident occurred and yesterday he recalled what happened last Thursday evening.
"You don't give it too much thought -- except hoping it isn't someone you know," said Karim.
He got the bad news Friday, that the accident that choked North Shore traffic for half a day had claimed family members.
"I was in complete shock," said Manji. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be someone I knew, let alone relatives."
The transport ministry and West Vancouver police continue to investigate the accident, in which a logging truck lost its load of giant cedar logs. The logs plunged over the concrete highway divider into eastbound traffic, crushing the grey sedan in which the mother and daughter were travelling.
The women's deaths obliterated a dream, said Manji.
Farida, 53, had come to Canada from Kenya in 1981. The family moved from Richmond to Burnaby before settling in West Vancouver.
Shaireen had graduated from Meadow Ridge, a private school in Pitt Meadows, before heading off to McGill University in Montreal where she obtained a B.A. in international development with a minor in economics.
She returned to the Lower Mainland a year ago and opened the Well Health Pharmacy, with her mother as pharmacist and Shaireen running the business.
"She was interested in international development but she also had a strong mind for business, which goes to the economics degree," said Manji. "She felt at this time she wanted to get into business. She had a great vision for her business, according to her father.
"Her dreams were to make this initial one a success and then start opening up some other satellite pharmacies around the Lower Mainland."
Manji said mother and daughter were close.
"Just by opening the business together kind of typified what kind of relationship they had. They travelled together. They loved spending time together. The relationship was fairly deep."
The afternoon they died was an example of that relationship.
"From what we understand, they were going to the business to spend a couple of hours on the holiday, just cleaning up, re-arranging, kind of getting ready for Christmas and setting up decorations, that kind of thing," said Manji. "They were heading there for a few hours before they were to meet some friends for dinner."
It's too early for the family to say whether there should be a criminal investigation, or changes to the road or trucking rules.
"To be honest, I think our focus has been mainly on supporting each other, having friends support us and getting through the process," said Manji.
The process continues this morning with a funeral at the Ismaili Lions Gate Jamathkhana.
A crowd of 1,500-2,000 mourners is expected.
fluba@png.canwest.com