Family and friends of two brothers killed in a west-Ottawa crash say they are in complete devastation.
Dan Louks, 49, and his younger half-brother Jonathan Goicoechea , 33, were killed when an out of control car landed on top of their vehicle Sunday July 27, 2014.
“Danny and Johnny, to me they will always be my boys” says their mother Carolyn Boley, “I still can’t believe they are gone.”
Boley travelled to Ottawa with her daughter from the family’s Southern Ontario hometown of Welland to make funeral arrangements, something the family unfortunately knows too well. The mother of six has now lost four children; one daughter to an asthma attack, another to cancer and now her two sons in the tragic car crash.
“There is no such thing as closure”, says the mourning mother who doesn’t consider herself strong instead just able to cope.
The brothers were on their way to play tennis when they were stopped at a red light on Carling Avenue at March Road. Witnesses say a Nissan Altima travelling northbound on March Road then lost control when turning onto Carling Avenue, flipping on top of Goicoechea’s car before landing in a ditch. Louks and Goicoechea were killed instantly. The 39 year old driver of the Altima and his 70 year old father who was a passenger remain in hospital.
Louks was a father to a two year old girl and was expecting another child in November. His brother, Johnny, moved to Ottawa more than a year ago. The two men lived together and worked together. Danny owned his own construction company and built a popular south-end retirement home, Johnny worked there as kitchen manager.
Friends tell CTV both had magnetic personalities “everyone just loved them”, calling them generous, kind and amazing people.
Retirement home staff, friends and family held a memorial for the men on Thursday July 31, 2014. CTV honoured the family’s wishes to keep the memorial private.
Ottawa Police have not yet said what caused the deadly crash, or if the driver who remains in hospital will face any charges. They are still asking any members of the public who may have witnessed the crash to call the Collision Unit at 613.236.1222 extension 2481.
