A shock wave crossed the Montreal-North district on Wednesday morning: a 2-year-old girl lost her life after being hit by the driver of a vehicle while crossing an intersection with her mother.
Posted at 11:26
Updated at 3:59 p.m.
“When I arrived, there was a lady running around shouting, ‘My child! My child ! My child !” I didn’t understand right away, because I couldn’t see [poussette]. Then I saw it, under the wheels,” recalls Rémi Robert, CEO of the Société québécoise Décontamination amiante (SQDA), a company located on avenue des Récollets, very close to where the accident took place.
Witness of the collision, Rémi Robert ran to give first aid and call 911.
The tragedy occurred around 9 a.m., when a mother and her 2-year-old daughter, installed in her stroller, crossed avenue des Récollets, at the corner of Fleury. They were violently hit by a 43-year-old motorist in a white SUV-type pickup truck who was turning west on Fleury Street. “The stroller was dragged several meters,” confirms Mariane Allaire Morin, spokesperson for the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
Montreal North Mayor Christine Black reacted to the tragedy on social media. “As mayor, mom and citizen, I am troubled by this tragedy,” she said on Twitter. She also assured that the safety of the intersection would be assessed based on the conclusions of the SPVM. “Security is a priority for our local administration,” she added.
In the aftermath, M.me Black recalled that life-size silhouettes of school children had been installed on several streets in the borough. More than 70 speed bumps are to be added by the end of the summer on residential streets, as well as new sidewalk overhangs and pedestrian crossings.
The mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante, also reacted on Twitter and offered her condolences to the family. “What terrible news,” she wrote. I cannot imagine the pain of this mother, whose life has just changed. May she be surrounded by love to get through this painful ordeal. »
horror scene
“When I arrived, the mother was full of blood and the baby was under the car. The driver was on the corner of the street, stunned, clearly in shock, ”says Evans Rodney, an employee of SQDA who was also called to the rescue.
It was like a horror movie.
Evans Rodney, an employee of SQDA
Himself the father of a 2-year-old child, Mr. Rodney cannot imagine what happened. “In my head, the mother brought her kid at daycare…”
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Traffic lights without priority for pedestrians are installed at this intersection of rue Fleury Est.
While Rémi Robert and bystanders administered first aid to the girl and contacted emergency services, Evans Rodney and other employees secured the scene and managed the heavy morning traffic until help arrived. A woman trained in first aid who had stopped at the scene even “ran to the nearest swimming pool to bring back a defibrillator”, assures Mr. Robert.
Despite all these efforts, the girl, seriously injured, succumbed after being taken to hospital. The 40-year-old mother sustained minor lower body injuries and was treated by paramedics. The motorist was also treated for nervous shock, specifies Mme Morin.
A particular intersection
Traffic lights without priority for pedestrians are installed at this intersection of rue Fleury Est. Avenue des Récollets is one-way to the south and two-way to the north. A lane from rue Fleury to the east leading to boulevard Pie-IX is closed due to construction work.
The intersection is in a residential area, but at the junction of a more industrial sector, with several manufacturing companies on Récollets. A residence for the elderly is located at the corner of the two streets, as well as an Italian restaurant and a mechanical workshop.
Wednesday morning, the scene was protected and investigators, as well as a reconstructionist, moved to the scene. For the moment, the SPVM cannot comment on the reasons that led to the collision (signalling problems, inattention, etc.), says Ms.me Morin.
This is the twelfth fatal collision on SPVM territory in 2022, and the fifth involving a pedestrian. At this time last year, 17 fatal collisions had occurred and eight pedestrians had lost their lives.