A 7-year-old Ukrainian girl died tragically in Montreal after being hit by a fleeing car on Tuesday morning, she who had fled Russian bombs in her country to take refuge in Quebec.
Photo QMI Agency, Joêl Lemay
Many police were dispatched Tuesday morning in the Ville-Marie borough, where a 7-year-old girl was the victim of a hit-and-run.
“When I saw him…I thought fuck it, he’s just a kid. She was very small on the ground. It could have been my daughter, ”launches in an interview with Le Journal Philippe H. Bouchard, still in shock.
This resident of the Sainte-Marie district, in Montreal, witnessed in front of his home “the worst nightmare” that a parent can imagine.
Photo QMI Agency, Joêl Lemay
Reenactmentists were deployed on Tuesday to clarify the circumstances of the event.
A 7-year-old girl was the victim of a fatal hit-and-run at the intersection of Parthenais and Rouen streets around 8 a.m. The young Ukrainian, named Maria, was on her way to school at the time of the tragedy.
“I immediately thought of his family,” says Mr. Bouchard. They left a country at war to give their child a future and secure them here. To finally come and die on a street in Montreal. I feel a lot of anger. »
Photo Marianne Langlois
Flowers laid at the scene of the accident in tribute to Maria.
Suspect arrested
According to Philippe H. Bouchard, the child attended Jean-Baptiste-Meilleur elementary school and was in a reception class to learn French. The girl therefore died less than 200 meters from her school.
“A suspect, an elderly man in his 40s, has been arrested and met by our investigators. He himself went to a police station on the South Shore of Montreal,” confirmed agent Raphaël Bergeron, spokesperson for the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
Photo QMI Agency, Joêl Lemay
Everything indicates that the driver fled the scene in his car before the arrival of the police, leaving behind the young victim on the ground.
“You can’t do that to a child,” dropped Mr. Bouchard.
The death of the child, who was transported to a hospital, was finally announced shortly before 6 p.m. at the end of the day on Tuesday.
- Listen to Yves Poirier summarizing the events via QUB-radio :
“Reckless” motorists
Mélina Dorléans also lives opposite the place where Maria was fatally hit on Tuesday. It was she who took care of her big sister and her big brother who witnessed the scene.
Photo QMI Agency, Joêl Lemay
“I put them aside to occupy them. […] This street corner is on a slope and people are driving too fast. The stop sign is really not well marked. It puts children at risk. It’s extremely dangerous,” says Ms. Dorléans.
The shock is also palpable among other local residents who denounce the reckless motorists, especially since schools and daycare centers are located near the hit-and-run.
Photo provided by Philippe H. Bouchard
“It’s going to be a wake up callbecause there have been calls [à ce sujet] “, deplores François Desaulniers, member of a collective for the calming of traffic in the Sainte-Marie district.
Philippe H. Bouchard and Mélina Dorléans also organized a candlelight vigil on Tuesday evening, in the Parc des Royals, in tribute to the young Maria.
“It’s a trauma for the whole neighborhood,” concludes Mr. Bouchard.
– With the collaboration of Laurent Lavoie