A Hallmark TV star broke down as he paid emotional tribute to his wife, who was killed in last weekend’s horror attack on a Filipino street festival in Vancouver.
Noel Johansen held back tears as he spoke about his wife, Jenifer Darbellay, 50, who was among 11 killed when a mentally-ill driver deliberately rammed his SUV into crowds attending the Lapu-Lapu Day celebration on Saturday.
Johansen, a Montreal-born actor who holds Canadian, British and American citizenship, was on crutches because of his injury from the attack as he addressed a vigil for the victims.
“What you see here is an injury that means nothing to me because what’s inside my heart is broken. Because my wife passed away behind me at the incident,” he said, standing bravely beside his 7-year-old daughter Darby, who was also injured in Saturday’s attack.
“She never celebrated herself in her life,” Johansen said about his costume designer wife, with whom he also shares a 15-year-old son Ford.
He added: “She never thought of herself, she thought of herself as small in terms of the reach. And I can tell you she was larger than life for any of you who know her.
“So don’t be small in life, be big, reach out and reach out as a human being with everything you have, and please remember us who went through this,” he said.
Johansen and his family were searching for dessert at the popular festival when 30-year-old Kai-Ji Adam Lo allegedly drove the SUV through the crowd.
“It hit us before we knew. I was falling in slow motion trying to save my head from smashing in the pavement. It’s like a giant tidal wave,” Johansen told the Associated Press.
He also recalled one of the final conversations he had with his wife, just a day before the attack, when the couple had been talking about people who seek revenge on those who hurt them.
“That’s the whole problem,” his wife told him. “We need to forgive the perpetrators of the crimes that are committed against us.”
Johansen said he was trying to live by his wife’s words in the wake of the appalling tragedy.
Johansen, who splits his life between Vancouver and Los Angeles, is best known for his work on Hallmark Channel shows and movies include “Garage Sale Mystery: All That Glitters,” “When Calls the Heart,” “Chesapeake Shores,” “Harvest Love,” “Reunited at Christmas,” and “Roux the Day: A Gourmet Detective Mystery.”
Follow the latest on the Vancouver festival attack
- Suspect in Vancouver festival attack ID’d as Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, after at least 11 killed, dozens more injured
- Vancouver festival attack death toll rises to 11 as cops say driver had ‘extensive’ mental health history
- Festival musicians speak out after driver plowed SUV into Vancouver crowd
- Vancouver festival attack suspect was ‘known’ to police, apologized to crowd as they detained him after deadly rampage
- Black Eyed Peas singer reveals he left stage just minutes before deadly Vancouver festival attack
- Youngest victim in Vancouver festival attack was just 5 years old, say police, as driver remains in custody
A GoFundMe set up by Johansen’s friend and business partner, Michael Daingerfield Hall, to raise money for the grieving family has made $120,000 of its $144,000 target.
The other victims of Saturday’s attack include three members of the Samper family — husband and wife Glitza Maria Caicedo and Daniel Samper, and their daughter Glitza Daniela Samper.
Katie Le, 5, is the youngest victim of the attack. She died along with her parents, Richard Le and Linh Hoang.
Also among the dead is Kira Salim, a teacher-counsellor originally from Brazil.
Lo, who reportedly had a history of mental health problems, was charged with eight counts of second-degree murder during a video appearance before a judge last Sunday.
More charges are possible, according to investigators.
