Ahmad Khalid Ghulam Farooq was returning from soccer practice with his 10-year-old son around 8 p.m. Wednesday evening along Calgary’s busy Crowchild Trail when they came upon a broken-down vehicle near 5th Avenue Northwest.
Naturally, say Farooq’s friends, he stopped to offer help to the other driver — a man in his 40s who was driving a Toyota Prius.
It turned out to be a fatal decision.
“He was a very good man, he tried to help everybody,” his best friend Tooryali Eklil said in an interview with Global News.
“When we go somewhere, if he sees something or somebody need help, he always help.”
Police said as Farooq got out of his vehicle, it started to roll. He attempted to stop the vehicle, but somehow became pinned underneath.
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Farooq suffered fatal injuries and was declared deceased at the scene. He leaves behind a wife and five young children, ranging in age from two to 14 years old.
He was the sole provider for his family.
Described by family and friends as “the community handyman,” they are in shock.
“He fixed my garage, he fixed my house, he found me a job,” said Eklil.
“When we go to Banff, if somebody car is broke or something up, he said you stop the car, I need to help, he helped people,” added Eklil.
“He is a good father. A good friend. A good brother,” said Ahmad Farid Ghuaam Farooq.
His friends said the victim’s 10-year-old-son, who was in the car when the accident happened, is “in shock. Everyone’s in shock.”
Farooq’s funeral was held Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, his friends have set up a GoFundMe campaign for his family.
It describes him as “a beloved husband, father, and friend, who tragically lost his life while selflessly assisting a stranded driver on the road.”
Now, it continues, “his family is facing the unimaginable, and they need our support. Let’s show Khalid’s family the compassion and kindness that he so freely shared with others.”
Struggling with emotion Eklil added, “They are a big family and need support. The last deed he did is he helped people. He is a really good person. I am proud to be his friend.”
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