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IN THE TOTONTO SUN
Teen athlete dies
Star Mississauga ball player hit by truck
By KIM BRADLEY, TORONTO SUN
The Mississauga baseball community is in mourning after one of its promising young stars died after being hit by a pickup last week.
Michael Kim, 16, died in hospital with his family at his side Saturday after being admitted on Thursday.
He was walking on Mississauga Rd., near Barberton Rd., at 3 p.m. when he was hit from behind by a Ford F-150 .
Kim played with the Mississauga North Tigers for the last seven years, but left this season to play with a travelling team in Oakville, Tigers coach Remo Cardinale said.
"It's been quite a tragedy," he said of the loss of the star centre fielder. "His aspiration was to get a scholarship in the States and to be a baseball player."
Cardinale said Kim, who represented Ontario three years ago in the national championships in Windsor, was an all-around good athlete, participating in hockey, football and track. But this year he focused on baseball.
"His nickname this year was 'Coach.' Twenty years from now, when he was finished his baseball career, I could see him being a really good coach," he said.
Funeral plans are being worked on, but his family intends to bury Kim in his Tigers uniform, Cardinale said.
A Cameron man was driving the truck. Police continue to investigate.
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IN THE MISSISSAUGA NEWS
Baseball star killed walking home from school
Louie Rosella
Nov 7, 2006
Mississauga's sports community is in mourning this week after one of the city's young baseball stars, was killed while walking home from school in a crash that still has Peel Regional Police puzzled.
Michael Kim's dream of playing in the big leagues came to a sudden halt on Saturday morning when he was taken off of life support at Sunnybrook Hospital on Toronto.
The decision came two days after the St. Aloysius Gonzaga high school student sustained severe head injuries when he was struck from behind by a Ford F-150 truck in Streetsville.
The truck's driver, a 47-year-old man from Cameron, Ont., stopped at the scene to offer assistance.
Peel Regional Police said Kim cannot be blamed for the accident. He was walking on the grassy shoulder of Mississauga Rd., where pedestrians are supposed to walk, when he was hit by the northbound truck just north of the Eglinton Ave. intersection, on the afternoon of Nov. 2.
Peel Cst. Pete Brandwood said alcohol wasn't a factor in the crash, but said the force's Major Collision Bureau hasn't ruled out laying charges as
investigators continue to seek out witnesses "in efforts to shed some light on the circumstances surrounding the collision."
Kim was a star outfielder and pitcher with the AAA Mississauga North Tigers, and had been with the Mississauga North Baseball Association for seven years, said his coach, Remo Cardinale.
"He was a popular kid and a very well-liked kid," said the coach.
Kim represented Ontario three years ago in the national baseball championships in Windsor. Cardinale said he hoped to get a baseball scholarship in the U.S. and eventually play professionally.
Cardinale said Kim's family, including his parents and younger sister, have yet to find closure in his death.
"The one thing the family does know is that this wasn't his fault," said Cardinale. "He wasn't zipping across the street. He didn't come out of nowhere from two parked cars. He was doing what he was supposed to do; what he did everyday, and that's walk home. Now his life is over."
St. Aloysius Gonzaga principal Tim Lariviere described the Grade 11 teen as a "wonderful young man" and an "outstanding student who will be missed by his friends, teammates and teachers."
There will be a viewing today from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Lee Funeral Home in Streetsville, followed by a funeral tomorrow at 12 p.m. at St. Joseph's Catholic Church on Durie Rd.
Anyone with information on the accident is asked to call police at 905-453-2121, ext. 3710.
