Community Remembers Sabrina Ormsby After Fatal Collision in Owen Sound
Sabrina Ormsby, 48, died after being struck Tuesday evening while crossing an Owen Sound intersection with her daughter. Loved ones say warmth and generosity defined her life.
Sabrina Ormsby will be remembered as a kind woman who gave freely of her time and love at every opportunity, friends and family say. Ormsby died on Wednesday in a London trauma centre, the morning after she was struck by a pickup truck while crossing an intersection in Owen Sound.
The 48-year-old mother of three had just left the Brightshores Owen Sound Hospital on Tuesday evening, accompanied by her oldest daughter. They had visited Ormsby’s father in hospital and planned to walk home.
As mother and daughter crossed the first intersection on their route, Ormsby was struck by a pickup truck turning northbound onto 16th Avenue East from 10th Street. Her daughter, uninjured, called 911 and was soon joined by an off-duty nurse and a nursing student who administered CPR.
Despite the best efforts of first responders and medical personnel locally and in London, Owen Sound Police Service announced on Thursday that a female pedestrian had succumbed to her injuries and died following the collision. They provided no identifying details and said the investigation is ongoing.
Her older sister, Niki Ormsby, wants the community to know Sabrina’s name.
“She deserves to be named. Her life had value and richness. Her love was large and warm,” Niki told Owen Sound Current on Saturday. “Sabrina was someone who cared so deeply. I don’t want her reduced to ‘pedestrian,’” she added.
On Friday, Niki shared with friends that Sabrina was an organ donor, and that her heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas cells, and eyes had been donated to others in need.
That decision was a pact the sisters made when they lost their oldest sibling — a brother, Anthony — in a workplace incident. The company involved was charged in relation to his death.
“When our brother Tony died 27 years ago, we both made the decision to be organ donors so that others could live,” Niki explained. “It was very important to us.”
Friends describe Sabrina as deeply thoughtful and curious, someone who approached people and ideas with openness and generosity.
Those qualities and her generous nature are things Paul VanWyck will remember of Sabrina, he said. Her husband, David Greenfield, tutored two of the VanWyck children, and Sabrina provided after-school childcare for them at one point.
VanWyck also worked at Tenneco in Owen Sound alongside Niki and her husband. Len Ormsby, their father, and Sabrina worked in other departments.
“Sabrina was warm and friendly, and our sons were pretty good friends,” VanWyck shared. “We’re heartbroken, for her daughter who witnessed this and the whole family,” he added.
Jim Ansell, operator of The Bleeding Carrot restaurant in downtown Owen Sound until its permanent closure in 2021, said Sabrina and her children visited the establishment often.
“She was a valuable customer, and also just such a sweet and kind person,” Ansell remarked. “It’s terrible news,” he added, and said he is thinking of her family.
Sabrina was also a member of the local martial arts community, as a student at KT Tae Kwon Do, co-owned by Rick Thibodeau and Jason Kim. Her daughter and sister practiced there, as well.
Thibodeau remembers her as a positive influence in their community. “She was a supporter of pursuing excellence; building confidence in oneself through overcoming challenges, big and small,” he said.
“We cannot adequately express our gratitude for the privilege of knowing Sabrina over these years,” Thibodeau added.
Colleen Martindale, a friend of the family, organized a GoFundMe campaign for Greenfield and the couple’s three children, who range in age from 11 to 17. As of February 21, the effort had raised over $11,600, which the organizer said will assist the family with “immediate expenses, household needs, and providing stability for the children in the weeks and months ahead.”
“Sabrina’s family was her world. She was an absolutely amazing woman,” Niki said, adding that her sister’s smile “could light up a room.”
She encourages people to remember her sister — and to be cautious and thoughtful with those around them, and when out in the community.
“Carelessness can easily cost someone their life, and the ripple effect it has is massive,” Niki warned.
Celebration of life planning continues, and details will be announced once finalized.
Editor’s note: Sabrina Ormsby was a member of the Owen Sound Current subscriber community. We extend our sincere condolences to her family and loved ones.
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