One of at least seven people killed in an Amtrak train derailment Tuesday was a Canadian.
He has been identified as Abid Gilani, a senior vice-president with Wells Fargo in New York.
A relative says he was heading home from a funeral when the derailment occurred.
Wife Diane Gilani described her husband as a “really wonderful” person.
“He was a kind family man and we have suffered a tremendous loss today,” she said.
Diane and Abid are both from Ontario, but moved south of the border decades ago, she said.
Abid travelled to his job in New York City on the Amtrak.
Diane said she heard about the train crash early Wednesday. Concerned for her husband, she got in her car to drive to Philadelphia, and was just outside the city limits when she was told she was needed for identification.
Gilani’s LinkedIn profile shows a career that started in Canada and took him around the world.
Gilani was the senior vice-president for Wells Fargo’s Hospitality Finance Group for about one year.
Before that, Gilani worked for Marriott International Inc. for several years, including as Chief Financial Officer, Europe.
His time at Marriott came after nearly two decades at Scotia Capital and Scotiabank offices in Toronto, Calgary and San Francisco.
Gilani earned a Bachelor of Engineering from Laurentian University in Sudbury in 1982 and completed an MBA from the University of Saskatchewan in 1987.
Diane said her husband will be “sorely missed,” and asked that everyone pray for the train crash victims, their families and friends.
Transport officials said the train hit a curve while travelling 170 km/h, more than double the turn’s speed limit. The engineer applied the train’s emergency brakes but was only able to slow its speed to 164 km/h before it ran off the tracks.
More than 200 people were injured as the train crashed through an industrial neighbourhood near the Delaware River.
