Widow of crash victim Andrew Cristillo testifies at Newmarket sentencing

Christina Cristillo told a Newmarket court how a head-on collision on Aug. 3 killed her 35-year-old husband and injured their three young daughters. Driver Jaiwin Kirubananthan had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death.

'The future we planned together was gone in an instant'

Christina Cristillo described to a Newmarket courtroom Tuesday how the death of her 35-year-old husband Andrew in a Highway 48 head-on collision has robbed their three daughters of a father and left her without her closest companion — the man who had supported her through a stage four breast cancer diagnosis. Global News Crime reports that the statement was delivered at the sentencing hearing for Jaiwin Kirubananthan, who pleaded guilty in April to dangerous driving causing death, three counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm and failing to remain at the scene of an accident causing death.

"He was my hero. He was also the girls' hero. We called him our superhero dad," Christina said, her voice trembling on an audio recording played in court, as a family photo was displayed on monitors.

She told court the couple had known each other for 25 years — Andrew was 11 and she was nine when they met through her brother, and both competed in Tae Kwon Do together.

The collision on Highway 48

On Aug. 3, 2025, Christina was driving northbound in a Nissan SUV on Highway 48 in Whitchurch-Stouffville, with Andrew in the passenger seat and the couple's three daughters — Leah, 7, Chloe, 6, and Ella, 4 — in the back seats. According to an agreed statement of facts, Kirubananthan was travelling southbound in a Toyota RAV4 at 139 km/h before crossing the median and striking the Cristillos' vehicle head-on. The posted speed limit on that stretch of road is 80 km/h. The impact speed of the RAV4 ranged from 127 to 130 km/h; the Cristillos' SUV was travelling at approximately 69 km/h at the moment of impact.

The Nissan came to rest in a ditch on the west side of the roadway, partially on its roof. Witnesses who had seen the RAV4 speeding earlier arrived at the scene within seconds and approached the vehicle, only to find the driver's door open and no one inside. They then heard Christina calling for help — she had managed to escape the wreckage, but the other occupants could not.

Andrew was unconscious, trapped in the front passenger seat. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The three girls were extracted and taken to hospital: Leah sustained a broken wrist, a laceration from her forehead to her eye and a concussion; Chloe suffered a broken toe and extensive bruising; Ella sustained a broken femur and tibia and a laceration that extended from her forehead to her eye.

Driver found hiding in a potato field

Nearly nine hours after the crash, the Ontario Provincial Police deployed a thermal imaging drone to assist in the search for the occupant of the abandoned RAV4. Kirubananthan was located hiding in a potato field approximately 150 metres east of the collision site. He identified himself only as "Jaiwin" before being arrested. He was 18 years old at the time.

Christina told court that she and her children were taken by ambulance to hospital without Andrew.

"My girls kept asking about Andrew and where he was and whether he was going to visit them in hospital. I had to share with my babies that their daddy was no longer with them because he went to heaven," she said.

'A life sentence of grief'

Andrew's father, Danny Cristillo, also delivered a victim impact statement, telling Kirubananthan directly that his actions had destroyed his son's family.

"Your actions have not only destroyed my son's family where three little girls will grow up without a family, you have handed a life sentence of grief to our family. More than 45,000 people have signed a petition calling for increased penalties for dangerous drivers, people who are moved by what happened to Andrew. A GoFundMe campaign was established to support Christina and the kids, the public response was extraordinary," Danny said.

He added that he and his wife now handle much of the driving for the grandchildren, as Christina is unable to drive since the crash.

Christina additionally read a victim impact statement on behalf of the children via audio recording. She described a framed photograph of Andrew, placed at the head of the table with a candle beside it.

"Every time the girls make something, they run up to his nightstand and display it there," she said in the statement on their behalf.

"As their mother, one of the hardest things is knowing I cannot give them back what was taken from them. I cannot replace their dad. Their lives were divided into before and after that day. The effects of this accident did not end when they left the hospital. They continue every day as they grow up and encounter each milestone without their father beside them," Christina said.

Further charges against Kirubananthan

Kirubananthan remains before the courts on unrelated charges. He is alleged to have been driving a vehicle that struck an OPP cruiser in Premier Doug Ford's motorcade on Highway 401 on January 8, 2025. Sentencing in the Cristillo case was ongoing at the time of reporting.

Source: Global News Crime