Crowds welcome home body of Sgt. Robert Dynerowicz in Kitchener, Ont.
CBC News | Posted: April 28, 2017 3:34 PM | Last Updated: April 28, 2017
Funeral planned in Kitchener for Monday morning
Crowds gathered on a bridge with flags to welcome home the body of Sgt. Robert "Bobby" Dynerowicz Friday afternoon.
Dynerowicz died Tuesday after he was involved in an accident while riding in a light armoured vehicle during training at CFB Wainwright, Alta.
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Family, friends, firefighters and well-wishers gathered. Some wore T-shirts with Dynerowicz's name while others showed their support wearing red and white.
Dynerowicz's body was driven from Pearson Airport in Toronto about 90 kilometres west to the Henry Walser Funeral Home in Kitchener.
The crowd was expecting a police-led motorcade of his immediate family to go past between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Those in attendance draped flags from the Ottawa Street bridge over the Conestoga Parkway. Firefighters and construction crews hoisted large flags into the sky with ladders and cranes.
Dynerowicz's aunt, Darlene Karnupis, helped organize the tribute and it's something she thinks Dynerowicz would have appreciated.
"Robert, because he was not killed in combat, he is not a candidate for the Highway of Heroes," she said.
"This was one of Robert's wishes, if he was to pass on during his military experience, that he would be coming [home] on the Highway of Heroes."
Funeral planned for Monday
Dynerowicz, who was with the Royal Canadian Dragoons, had served two tours in Afghanistan. He was taking part in training exercises when the accident occured. An investigation into the accident is underway.
Three other soldiers inside the LAV-3, including the driver, were injured.
Two of them are now back with their units and the third remains in hospital. All were from CFB Petawawa.
Karnupis said the whole family was happy to have Dynerowicz home after his tours in Afghanistan. For him to die during training, "it's just very tragic," she said.
"When he came back from Afghanistan, I was just so relieved because he had gone for two tours. I had never expected him, being a trainer, doing a training exercise, for this to have happened," she said.
"When they're overseas, you're always praying and hoping that they'll come back," she added.
"This is just so sudden for our whole family that he would be in this tragic accident and pass on from it on Canadian soil," she said.
There is visitation for Dynerowicz over the weekend. A funeral service is planned for Monday at 10 a.m.