The parents of the young hockey player killed in the Humboldt Broncos crash who was originally misidentified as a survivor are telling their story for the first time in hopes of sharing more of who their son really was.
Parker Tobin, 18, was one of 16 people killed in the rural bus crash nearly one year ago. But for two days, authorities thought Parker was alive and that 18-year-old Xavier Labelle, who had a similar build and gold-dyed hair, had died on the scene.
As soon as they learned of the horrific crash, Parkerās parents rushed to hospital. They were told that their son was unconscious, but alive.
āThey brought us into the room and I do remember looking at him and saying like, thatās not him. And thatās not because it wasnāt him, but just because he was so badly injured it wasnāt anybody I knew,ā Parkerās mother, Rhonda Clarke-Tobin, told Ā鶹“«Ć½.
Because of the severity of Labelleās injuries, the parents didnāt realize that a mistake had been made. Bandages covered his face and made it impossible for the parents to notice particular features, such as the telltale chicken pox scar above their sonās nose.
The family camped out at the bedside all weekend. They met with doctors, gave consent for surgery and tried to provide comfort for the teenager they believed was their son.
āIt was just time talking to him, whether it was just trying to hold his hand,ā Parkerās mother said.
All the while, Labelle was not conscious or able to speak.
After two days, doctors told the parents that their son would be ready to breathe on his own. When he awoke, he didnāt recognize the couple.
āMy first thought was heās got a brain injury. And then Xavier just simply said his name and it was like, āOh my, itās not him.ā And that was it. Everything collapsed,ā said Parkerās father, Ed Tobin.
For Parkerās mother, the moment was overwhelming.
āI fainted. Finding out at that point that he didnāt make it was just -- my heart broke,ā she said.
Shortly after, their eldest son identified Parkerās body, confirming that heād been killed.
Provincial authorities publicly acknowledged the mistake the following morning.
"I don't think enough can ever be said. All I can do is offer our sincerest apologies, our sincerest condolences and sympathies, in particular to the Tobin family on the news that they would have received,ā said Drew Wilby, a spokesman for Saskatchewan's Ministry of Justice, at the time.
The Labelle family had their own doubts after visiting the coroner, but those doubts were never communicated to the Tobin family.
āIf that had been communicated to us, then those two days might have turned out to be a lot different,ā Ed Tobin said.
The parents said they had their suspicions that something wasnāt quite right. But the two boys shared a striking resemblance, and it seemed like there was a medical explanation for the physical disparities.
āEverything where you thought, it doesnāt necessarily look like Parkerās hand, but then weāre told, there was so much swelling, his hands were swollen. Those things being explained, so thereās no reason to believe that it isnāt him,ā Rhonda Clarke-Tobin said.
Regardless, Parkerās parents said they arenāt angry or bitter over what happened. They spent time grieving with the Labelle family and say he has a āspecial placeā in their hearts.
āIt was really important that we spent time with them and for them to know that we werenāt angry about anything, that we were just, we wanted them to feel reassured ā donāt feel guilty,ā Rhonda Clarke-Tobin said.
The parents decided to tell their story to share more about who their son really was and to move beyond the tragic mix-up.
āEvery time one of the boys gets mentioned, regardless of the topic, that little tag along goes with them: one of the boys who was misidentified. We donāt want that to be Parkerās legacy,ā Ed Tobin said.
Instead, they want people to know Parker for who he was.
āWe just want people to know Parker the academic, Parker the athlete. I mean, heās always going to be a part of the Broncos story, but he was more than that. He had plans to try to get an NCAA scholarship and go to school,ā his mother said.
āParker was a great kid. He really knew who he was and at 18, that always just impressed me so much. He was kind-hearted, he had lots of ambition.ā
The past year has been difficult for the family. Parkerās bedroom remains almost untouched, and whenever the couple travels, they bring their sonās ashes with them.
To honour their sonās memory, the family plans to establish an annual scholarship for a goalie in post-secondary education and host a goalie camp.
A memorial is being held Saturday in Humboldt, Sask. to mark the one-year anniversary of the crash and remember those who lost their lives. Ā鶹“«Ć½ Channel and CTVNews.ca will broadcast the event live at 6:30 p.m. ET, 4:30 p.m. MT.
