Browsing her son's Facebook page, Valerie Bailey reads the loving words his friends have left for her son P.J. and his family.
"You were an amazing friend, an amazing dancer, talented musician and a great friend," writes Katelyn Dutka.
"Even though I had the honour of knowing you for such a short time, you impacted my life more than you could ever know."
P.J. Bailey, 19, died Sept. 22 in a car collision near Stony Plain Road and 182 Street.
Valerie said it's been very "therapeutic" for her family to see the many lives P.J. touched, and the many people who will miss him, write their condolences online.
"I'm almost speechless because I'm reading this stuff and realizing that even people who've only briefly met him were often touched by his way with people," Valerie said.
P.J. was driving west on a service road Thursday with a co-worker on a supper-run and returning to work at Denny Andrews Ford when the unthinkable happened.
At about 6:45 p.m., his car struck a Ford F-250 heading east and making a left hand turn into a gas station.
The driver of the truck was also one of P.J.'s co-workers.
While both P.J and his passenger were rushed to hospital — P.J. was taken to University hospital and his co-worker to the Royal Alexandra Hospital — P.J.'s injuries were too substantial.
Suffering "devastating" injuries to his brain and skull, P.J. died Friday morning at 2:30am.
While the Edmonton Police Service is still investigating the collision, Valerie said it isn't know if the driver made an unsafe turn or if P.J. was driving too fast.
She said it could have happened to anyone.
"Especially if it was just the glare of sun in his eyes being a factor in the accident," Valerie said.
"I'm feeling very sympathetic with whoever it was driving the truck."
While Denny Andrews Ford management refused to comment out of respect for P.J.'s family, Valerie said many Denny Andrews Ford employees went to the hospital to wait with her family during her son's final hours.
This is Edmonton's 15th traffic fatality of 2011.
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