A Canadian woman who has been in a Cuban hospital since Christmas will be allowed to return home for her son’s funeral.
Justine Davis was vacationing in Cuba when her and her three-year-old son Cameron – who were riding rented scooters – were hit by a truck.
Cameron died following the crash, while Justine required five surgeries for a broken arm and other injuries.
She had said the hospital in which she was staying was willing to release her to Canadian medical care, but Cuban officials – still investigating the crash – were not.
Cameron’s body was returned to Canada, and a funeral was postponed as long as possible in the hopes Justine would be able to attend – but because of sub-standard embalming techniques in Cuba, couldn’t be held any later than Saturday.
Fearing Davis would miss the funeral, a number of her friends organized a social media campaign, which brought widespread media attention to the case.
Thursday afternoon, news broke that she would be released.
Amber Hussey, a friend of Davis’ who lives in Kitchener, says she feels “overjoyed and overwhelmed” by the news.
“We’re so grateful to everyone who reached out and gave us support,” she tells CTV News.
“We’ve still got the funeral ahead of us and Justine knows she has a long road ahead of her as well, but it’s the first step.”
Hussey says Davis’ family and friends are still working to secure flights home, but expect her in Canada in term for Cameron’s funeral.
“She’s very excited at the prospect of being home … but at the same time, she’s completely overwhelmed,” she says.
While Davis has been laid up in Cuba, a number of friends and family have flown down to stay with her, including Hussey’s mother and sister.
According to the federal government’s travel website, traffic incidents are one of the most common reasons for Canadians to be arrested or detained in Canada.
The website says it can commonly take up to a year for cases to go to trial, with drivers not allowed to leave the country until the trial takes place.
