London social-media performer, 24, mourned after Hwy. 401 crash

Article content

A 24-year-old Londoner killed in a crash along the westbound lanes of Highway 401 Friday has been identified as Omar Barzak.

According to Middlesex OPP, the two-car crash that closed the highway for six hours happened at about 2:15 a.m. between Culloden and Putnam roads in Thames Centre, east of London. The driver of the second vehicle was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Article content

In a post on social media, Ontario Provincial Police officials said it was a “tough night for all involved.”

In an online fundraiser in Barzak’s memory, he is described as a “beloved brother to all and a pillar in the community.” The fundraiser had raised more than $112,000 for charity efforts in East Africa, and a water well dedicated in his name.

Barzak, a graduate of Western University, was recently in Lebanon with Human Appeal, an international non-profit aid organization, collecting food and donations for displaced Syrian and Palestinian families.

He was also a member of the London-based Al-Asala Dabke Group, a dance group with more than 1.3 million followers on TikTok and nearly 300,00 followers on Instagram.

A burial service for Barzak was held Friday afternoon by the London Muslim Mosque.

“On behalf of the community and the London Muslim Mosque, we ask Allah SWT to give patience and strength to the family, to provide for and pardon the deceased, to make honorable his reception, and to admit him to his paradise,” mosque officials wrote on Facebook.

The family was expected to accept condolences Saturday between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. at the London Muslim Mosque, 151 Oxford St. W., in the lower prayer hall.

Share this article in your social network