A couple celebrating their 17th wedding anniversary have been killed in a suspected street-racing accident on a busy roadway just north of Toronto.
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Rob and Lisa Manchester were killed instantly when their car was in a collision with one of two vehicles that witnesses said were racing up Yonge Street at speeds close to 140 kilometres per hour, according to York Region police.
Rob Manchester was a letter carrier who was battling cystic fibrosis, a disease that kills many sufferers in childhood. His wife Lisa was an executive with the Toronto Construction Association in Richmond Hill, Ont.
FROM JAN. 28, 2006: Memorial held for cab driver killed in alleged street race
Their seven-year-old daughter, Katie, was staying with neighbours when her parents died. She is being cared for by relatives.
The accident happened at the corner of Yonge Street and Stouffville Road, near the hamlet of Gormley in York Region. The Kennedys allegedly turned left onto Stouffville Road when they were in collision with a northbound car.
They were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
Marco Gasparro, 19, has been charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death.
Charges are pending against another driver who is currently in critical condition in hospital.
The incident took place several days after Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he would make street racing a Criminal Code offence with tough penalties.
In the Greater Toronto Area alone, at least 31 people have been killed in suspected street-racing incidents since 1999, said York Region police Sgt. David Mitchell.
Toronto taxi driver Tahir Khan was killed in an alleged street racing incident in January.