A woman whose sister was killed last weekend in a fiery crash in Whitby involving a suspected impaired driver is pleading with people to never get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol or drugs. Oricia Maletic’s only sister, 43-year-old Nataly Tucci, died on Nov. 1 following a three-vehicle collision on westbound Highway 401 near Thickson Road. Two of the vehicles involved caught fire. Tucci was in one of the vehicles and was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other people sustained minor injuries. At the time of the crash, Tucci was driving from the home she shared with her fiancé in Kingston to Toronto. Her sister said she had worked in the city since July at the Director’s Guild of Canada as the assistant art director. Maletic, who is from Windsor, told CP24 that Nataly’s body was so badly burned that they she had to be identified by dental records. “I can’t even look at her body for the last time to say goodbye,” she tearfully said during an interview with CP24. Jaxon Christie, 20, of Lincoln, Ont., has been arrested and charged with dangerous and impaired driving causing death and operation of a vehicle with excess blood over 80mg/alc in 100ml/blood. The allegations have not been tested in court. Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say Christie was one of the other drivers involved in the “rear-end type” collision. Christie remains in custody and a bail hearing is scheduled for next Monday. On Thursday, OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said speed is something investigators would also be looking into as a possible factor. Victim’s sister wants justice, tougher laws Maletic told CP24 that she decided to speak out because impaired driving can affect any family. She said that one way she can honour her sister’s memory is by pushing for stronger laws and harsher punishments for those who drive while impaired. “A lot of people go through this on a daily basis. All of us driving through or across any highway, any street, we’re always going to see, you know, that like the little memorial, the little flowers, and it always comes to mind, ‘Oh, that’s awful!” she said. People just get away with (driving impaired) and the punishment that they receive for this crime is insignificant. So, what is the incentive for people to really not do this?” ‘We’ll never forget about this’ Maletic said Nataly was a “normal” person, someone who tried to do good and help others when she could. She said she and her partner were building a good life together. They loved to travel and had plans to one day live overseas, she said. “Now, all of that is gone,” she said. Maletic said that while she and Nataly had fallen out of touch in recent years they remained connected through their mother and always kept apprised of the developments in each others lives. She added that she knows her sister would speak out too, if the shoe were on the other foot. Maletic went on to say that she and her family have joined a community no one ever wants to be a part of and must now navigate all of its painful realities, including upcoming court proceedings. “It’s my mother, it’s her fiancé, it’s his family, it’s my mother’s family, it’s my family, it’s my husband’s family,” she said. “We’ll never forget about this. I didn’t ask to be linked to this person and my sister, nobody obviously deserves to go in the way she did.” Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the collision or anyone with video footage from the area at the time of the crash to contact them at 1-888-310-1122. With files from CTV News Toronto’s Phil Tsekouras
