Friends will remember Carleton student Caylynn Kijowski as smart, kind and spontaneous.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) confirmed the 20-year-old criminology student died Dec. 23 after she lost control of her vehicle driving in the Municipality of Meaford, near Owen Sound, Ont. at 4 a.m.
Kijowski, who had just days earlier returned home for the holidays, was taken to Grey Bruce Highlands Services Hospital in Owen Sound where she was pronounced dead, according to an OPP news release.
Her friend and passenger 20-year-old Steven Rutherford was taken to the hospital for injuries, but was later released.
Kijowski leaves behind her mother, father, two younger brothers and roommate, good friend and Carleton student Jessica Strople.
“[Kijowski would] never turn her back on someone who needed something, whether that was chocolate chip cookies, a hug or just a listening ear,” Strople said.
Strople said she’ll remember her roommate as extremely intelligent, adding that Kijowski could often be found “camped out in our living room studying for her exams.”
Kijowski was also always ready to have a good time, Strople said.
“If any of us felt like doing something out of the blue, nine times out of 10 [Kijowski] would . . . be up for it,” Strople said.
Kijowski was an avid snowboarder, photographer and baker, she said, adding Kijowski had plans to go to photography school after finishing her criminology degree.
She often talked about how she found baking therapeutic.
“She said that was her therapy,” Strople said. “If she was stressed or in a bad mood, she baked.”
In a statement, Carleton acknowledged the “sudden and tragic death” and said “the thoughts and prayers of the Carleton community are with [Kijowski’s] family and friends at this difficult time.”
Even those not as close with Kijowski remember her as having “the biggest smile” and being very positive.
Third-year journalism student Peter McCartney said he met Kijowski when they lived on the same residence floor during first year.
“We had some really great times in [residence] together as did everyone who knew her there,” McCartney said. “We were a really close floor, everyone has just been heartbroken by the news.”
