The relatives of a father of three from York Region who was killed by a dangerous driver just over a year ago shed tears in a Newmarket courtroom on Tuesday as they described their pain and the loss following his sudden death.
The father of Andrew Cristillo, Danny Cristillo, described his 35-year-old son as a “man who built a rich, full, loving life for the people he loved the most.”
“My son Andrew was the greatest gift. My joy. My pride. I miss his smile. I miss his voice. I miss his laughter,” he said.
“The moment I lost Andrew I also lost a piece of my heart. Carrying life without him is different. I’m not the same person I was before August 3 and I never will be.”
Danny Cristillo also described going to a store to purchase a suit for his son’s wedding.
“Nine years later, I found myself in a change room at the same store trying on another suit standing there alone. I was buying a suit for my son’s funeral,” he shared.
“A wedding suit. A funeral suit. Nine years apart. Both for the same son.”
‘Our world flipped upside down’: widow
In a statement on behalf of Cristillo’s three daughters, Leah, Chloe and Ella, who were 7,6, and 4 at the time of the crash, the victim’s widow, Christina, described the what happened on Aug. 3, 2026.
“Andrew had a whole day planned with his little best friends,” she said, describing a day scootering around the neighbourhood, visiting a splash pad, and then going to the girls’ grandparents.
“We left and that is when our world flipped upside down. On what should have been a regular drive home from his parents’ house to our house [we were] left broken, shattered, and living a nightmare.”
The man’s widow went on to describe the rush to the hospital.
“I can barely breathe until I get air from the window that I shattered with my foot and I kept screaming, ‘Help me, help me, help me’,” the statement said.
“The state the girls were in is an image that is burned into my brain…so helpless, barely recognizable and all they can keep asking me is ‘Where is Daddy, why isn’t Daddy coming to see me’.”
For the girls, their dad is never far away, Christina Cristillo said, saying they talk to his picture and ask questions like, “Mommy, is Daddy eating in heaven? What kind of food does he eat there? Sometimes, they say, ‘Daddy, I wish you could come back’.”
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The driver of the other vehicle, Jaiwin Kirubananthan, sat facing forward, quietly listening to the victim impact statements, which are part of a hearing to determine his sentence.
Kirubananthan pleaded guilty in April to dangerous driving causing death, failing to remain at the scene of a crash where death ensued, and three counts of dangerous operation of a vehicle in connection with the crash on August, 3, 2025.
First responders found Kirubananthan nine hours after the deadly crash. He was located about 150 meters away from the scene, lying in a potato field.
Court heard he told the officers he wasn’t the driver, though investigators found his car’s airbag system registered only one person in the vehicle at the time.
Deadly crash happened in Whitchurch-Stouffille
Andrew Cristillo was driving on Highway 48 in Whitchurch-Stouffille the evening of Aug. 2, 2025 with his wife and three young daughters when Kirubananthan, who was 18 at the time, collided with his vehicle.
An agreed statement of facts presented in court said Kirubananthan was driving 136 km/h in the wrong direction on a highway with a posted maximum speed of 80 km/h.
Andrew Cristillo was killed instantly.
His wife was able to pull his three daughters from the wreckage. Each had broken bones and lacerations to their faces.
Driver previously charged in collision with Doug Ford
Court documents show Kirubananthan was previously charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle in connection with a January 2025 collision involving Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
They also show he likely faced a 30-day driving ban following the crash, which is mandatory after a stunt driving charge, but was not arrested.
The premier has spoken out in support of “Andrew’s Law,” which would, among other things, introduce mandatory driving bans in Ontario for motorists charged with dangerous driving until their trial is complete.
