Montrealers call for better road safety after Ukrainian girl’s death
On Friday morning, dad and mom, kids and different group member walked the identical route that Maria Legenkovska took in a Montreal neighbourhood on Tuesday when she was struck by a automobile and died.
Legenkovska, 7, was killed in a hit-and-run solely two months after coming to Caanda as a Ukrainian refugee.
“The following morning, after we walked to high school after we had the information that the lady died, you may simply see within the eyes of everyone after they crossed one another on the road. That ‘okay, we misplaced her and it may have been anyone,’” mentioned Anne-Marie Aubert, a mom within the Sainte-Marie space the place she was killed.
Mathieu Murphy-Perron of Velorution Montreal organized the stroll and mentioned many group members aren’t solely saddened by the younger lady’s dying however indignant that pedestrians appear to get hit extra repeatedly just lately.
“I’ve hardly ever seen a lot indignation,” mentioned Murphy-Perron. “After Maria’s dying, individuals actually appear to be they’re fed up. It may be the truth that there have been so many pedestrian fatalities in current weeks, it may be her age, the truth that she’s strolling to high school, one thing that each little one ought to be capable to do with out concern of being run over by a motorist who gained’t even keep on the scene.”
The walkers stopped on the memorial for Legenkovska to pay respects whereas some held indicators calling for pedestrian precedence on the roads within the neighbourhood.
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante met the gang on the Jean-Baptiste Meilleur Faculty and listened to the considerations of some group members who need extra measures in place.
“The message is, what I’m getting is that they need to have protected streets, protected sidewalks for his or her youngsters for households, for our elders,” mentioned Plante. “After all, we completely agree with that. As a mom, but in addition because the mayor of this borough (Ville-Marie) and the Metropolis of Montreal, it’s our accountability to do every part we are able to to guard our households and particularly our children.”
Plante grew visibly emotional when speaking about drivers’ behaviour on Montreal streets.
“There needs to be a mirrored image of behaviours for automotive drivers,” she mentioned. “It doesn’t matter in the event you’re late to a gathering. It’s about ensuring that pedestrians and probably the most susceptible are protected.”
Maria Legenkovska is seen in a household handout photograph. A Montreal-area man charged in a hit-and-run the place the seven-year-old Ukrainian lady was killed strolling to high school has been granted bail. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Legenkovska Household
On Tuesday, the younger lady was strolling to high school together with her brother and sister when she was hit by a automobile that fled the scene.
Juan Manuel Becerra Garcia was charged within the hit-and-run on Wednesday.
Plante mentioned town is continuous to debate what areas belong to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers within the metropolis however urged drivers to replicate on how they get across the metropolis.
“There needs to be a spot for everybody, however individuals must take accountability for their very own behaviours,” the mayor mentioned.
