Zahra Rasul and Josh Jankovics thought they were about to relive their worst nightmare on March 20.
The couple are the parents of Xavier Rasul-Jankovics, the 12-year-old who was was struck and killed by a fast-moving car while he was rollerblading with his family on a rural road near their home in Cobble Hill on Aug. 25, 2025.
Rasul and Jankovics, as well as approximately 75 neighbours, family members and friends, were gathered on Hillbank Road where the incident occurred and a memorial is set up for Xavier to celebrate their son’s 13th birthday.
Rasul said the group lit candles in memory of Xavier and shared their memories of him.
“There were a lot of tears and laughter and then, suddenly, while we were preparing to release Chinese lanterns into the air, a red Subaru came speeding down the road and then accelerated into the crowd,” she said.
“It was a miracle nobody was hit.”
Jankovics, who held Xavier in his arms while he died in August, 2025, at the same location, hauled several youngsters off the road just before the car would have struck them.
“The car came over the crest of the hill very fast and I had just half a second to pull four kids out of the way just in time,” he said.
“Other people were doing the same thing so, fortunately, nobody was hurt.”
Rasul said the car sped away, leaving her and everyone else at the gathering traumatized and in disbelief.
“There was chaos and confusion and people were crying, with some hyperventilating and throwing up,” she said.
“We felt very unsafe and we began moving people off the road while some people called 911. I can’t believe something like this happened while we were remembering Xavier who died in this exact spot seven months ago after being struck by a car.”
Rasul and Jankovics have been instrumental in the development of Xavier’s Law, which passed second reading in B.C.’s legislature on Feb. 23.
If passed, the bill will create a 30-day driving prohibition for those who engage in reckless driving, while requiring police to report every reckless driving incident to the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.
Rasul said the RCMP had two patrol cars parked at each end of the gathering on Hillbank Road on March 20 to ensure the safety of those in attendance after reports of young people speeding on the road that afternoon.
But they were called away just minutes before the speeding car approached the gathering.
Rasul said she doesn’t think it was a coincidence.
She said she has learned that there is a group of young men in the area, aged 18-20, who purposely engage in reckless driving behaviour, and she suspects they are involved in the incident, and they may be part of a larger culture of dangerous “stunt-driving” on Vancouver Island, and perhaps B.C.
“We’re upset by the fact that there are apparently no consequences of accountability for their actions,” she said.
“We want the community to be aware of this and get together and fight. We don’t want any more deaths. This is a form of terrorism.”
RCMP spokesman Corp. Alex Bérubé said there is an ongoing and active investigation regarding the incident.
“If and when we have details to share publicly, we will do so accordingly,” he said.
Mike Wilson, the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s director for Cobble Hill, said something has to be done to protect people in the area from reckless drivers, and he has been in touch with the province and ICBC to discuss the issue.
“This is no longer just a tragedy (about Xavier); it has become more than that,” he said.