A citizen was able to film Wednesday morning the driver of a Sûreté du Québec (SQ) van running through the stop at the corner of rue de Rouen and rue Parthenais, where little Mariia Legenkovska, 7, was hit to death by a motorist as she walked to school five months ago.
The images broadcast on social networks show the driver of vehicle number 6T01 of the Sûreté du Québec driving slowly west on rue de Rouen, before making a left turn without immobilizing his vehicle.
Mélina Dorleans, who lives at this intersection, filmed the scene after her daughter left on Wednesday for Jean-Baptiste-Meilleur primary school, the one attended by little Mariia.
“Drivers who don’t stop at this intersection are the majority,” she says. They make their turn and brake at the last second when there is a pedestrian, often children walking towards school. It’s very dangerous. »
To see a driver of a vehicle of the SQ, whose headquarters is located nearby, rue Parthenais, adopt this practice is shocking, she said.
“The SQ is a corporate citizen of the neighborhood, we would like the police to set an example, especially when they are on duty. »
In the wake of the death of little Mariia Legenkovska in December after being hit by a driver who was also turning left, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) automatically issued statements of offense to motorists who omitted to stop their vehicle there.
“Appropriate measures” will be taken
The SQ told The Press be aware of the existence of the video.
“The manager of the position concerned is notified as we speak, checks will be made. The objective is to identify the person who was driving at that time, ”says Sergeant Audrey-Anne Bilodeau, spokesperson for the SQ.
“Appropriate measures” will be taken based on the analysis of the situation.
“Could a statement of offense be issued? It’s not impossible, but it would be up to the SPVM to issue it,” she adds.
On Twitter, the SPVM said it had forwarded the information to the sector’s neighborhood station, PDQ 22.
According to our information, at least one person filed a police ethics complaint on Wednesday concerning this event.
Earlier this month, a citizen had filmed 44 violations in one hour committed by motorists who made a prohibited left turn at this intersection during the afternoon rush hour.
The Ville-Marie borough has undertaken to install more than a hundred speed bumps this summer to encourage motorists to respect the maximum authorized speed. Rue Parthenais in this sector will also become a one-way street, a measure that aims to make the area safer for citizens by reducing motorized transit traffic. The surroundings of schools will be made safe and several streets will be redesigned or opened to pedestrians and cyclists and not accessible to drivers of motorized vehicles.
The SQ launched a controversial national awareness campaign earlier this month that placed the onus of safety solely on pedestrians and cyclists, obscuring any liability from motor vehicle drivers in collisions, which several organizations have deplored. .