In a tragic turn of events, the husband of a woman killed in a hit and run in northwest Calgary two years ago has been killed in a crash in B.C.

Ahmed Nourani Shalloo was driving to Calgary from Vancouver to visit the grave of his wife, Maryam Rashidi Ashtiani, when he was killed in a crash in B.C.

A retired captain from the Calgary fire department was on the highway when the crash happened Thursday.

Don Honeychurch tells CTV Calgary he had just pulled into the curb lane of a passing lane when he felt a large impact on his driver’s side on our 3/4 ton pickup.

“I looked in my mirror to see a small white vehicle spinning like a top and slamming into a westbound fuel tanker. After pulling over I sent a mayday call on our trucker’s radio while my wife went to assist with the injured. “The child who was in the back seat was thrown from the car and was a least 100 feet away in the ditch and basically uninjured.”

Honeychurch says there was a very quick response from the parks employees , who were helpful and some had a bit of first aid training.

Shalloo’s friends are still trying to come to terms with their grief.

“I’m still shocked, I’m still trying to convince myself it has happened,” said family friend Gina Masnadi.

“Usually, this happens in movies, a story like this happens in a book, not in reality. For a family that came to Canada for a better life and never ended up being happy, both of them in the same day; we get goosebumps.”

Ahmed and his young son Koorosh moved away from Calgary after Maryam was killed trying to stop a $113 fuel theft from the gas station where she worked.

Maryam had taken the job after she’d been laid off from her position as a chemical engineer at a Calgary firm.

Joshua Mitchell was convicted of manslaughter in the incident in early May. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for the end of August.

Friends say Ahmed couldn’t attend the proceedings because he was too emotional, but wanted to return for the anniversary of her death.

“Culturally, the ceremony, the annual ceremony is very important for us,” Masnadi said.

Ahmed remarried in Vancouver and family members say Koorosh and his stepmother were in the car when the crash happened.

Koorosh received only minor injuries while his stepmother’s face was badly injured and she broke her shoulder. She is recovering at the Kamloops Hospital.

For now, Koorosh is in the care of Shahab Khoee, a relative, but it’s not clear what will happen to him now that he’s lost both of his parents.

“He’s doing okay,” Khoee told CTV Calgary. “He’s a strong boy [and] he knows what happened. He knows his dad passed away, the only person he had has passed. He’s a strong person.”

Masdani, who has had contact with Maryam’s family overseas, says caring for Koorosh is the top priority now.

She says family members will have to go through the legal process to determine who has custody of the boy.

Ahmed’s parents are now in B.C. and are working on the funeral arrangements.

(With files from Ina Sidhu)