So Ra

‘I just loved her more than myself’

University of Toronto students So Ra and Sohe Chung were crossing Finch Avenue on their way to the North York Central Library when the van hit them.

When So Ra woke up on the pavement, she didn’t understand what had occurred. She wondered: Had there been a gun attack? Was there an explosion?

Looking over, So Ra saw Chung beside her, unconscious. So Ra scanned her friend’s face and body for injuries and was relieved — she appeared to have survived. It wasn’t until five days later, while So Ra was recovering in hospital, that she learned her best friend had in fact died.

The two Korean women, both 22, were studying human biology. They met at school in their first year, bonded during karaoke nights and became best friends.

“Her presence was just so precious,” said So Ra. “I just loved her more than myself.”

So Ra herself suffered major facial injuries, including a broken jaw and a shattered cheekbone. She has no fewer than 10 metal plates in her face. And then there’s the guilt — of having survived, of having been unable to do more to help her friend in those crucial moments after the attack.

“I can never get over it,” said So Ra. “I know that I will have to carry this pain for my entire life because Sohe is a part of me now.”