Khalid Farooq, the Good Samaritan from Calgary who died trying to help a motorist, was a father of five

The man who lost his life Wednesday while trying to help a stranded motorist has been identified as Khalid Farooq.

On Wednesday evening, Farooq, driving a Toyota Prius, stopped on the northbound Crowchild Trail near Fifth Avenue at 8 p.m. to help someone whose vehicle had broken down in the right lane.

When Farooq exited his vehicle, it started rolling backwards.

“The man attempted to stop the Toyota and became trapped under the vehicle,” police said in a news release.

Although a number of bystanders rushed to help, Farooq was pronounced dead at the scene.

Calgary police say a man helping a fellow motorist died after becoming trapped under a vehicle on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.

A young boy, Farooq’s 10-year-old son, was with him at the time but was not injured.

Early Friday evening, Farooq’s best friend, Tooryali Eklil, spoke to CTV News about the tragic loss of Farooq, who also has four daughters, ages 14, 8, 6 and 1.

Ekllil described Farooq as someone who would help anyone who needed help.

“More than 200 people have called me since his death,” Eklil said. “Everyone has a story about how he helped them.

“(One said:) ‘He fixed my garage.’ (Another said) ‘He fixed my laundry room’. One guy called me and said, ‘I came to Calgary seven years ago and I called Khalid and said, ‘I can’t find a job,’ so he took me to one of his friends and his friend gave me a job.”

“He worked in construction for many years,” he says. “He is a very handy man. He can fix cars. He knows everything.

“This is a very big loss,” Eklil said. “He died trying to help someone.”

A GoFundMe campaign which was set up to help Farooq’s family has already raised almost $40,000.

With files from CTV’s Melissa Gilligan