Child, two adults hit by vehicle in River Heights pedestrian crosswalk

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This article was published 22/02/2024 (587 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A child and two adults were hit by a vehicle Thursday morning in a River Heights pedestrian crosswalk close to an elementary school and two daycare centres.

The student at J.B Mitchell School, a crossing guard and another adult were taken to hospital in stable condition as a precautionary measure, police said.

The collision happened at about 8:50 a.m. in the warning light-equipped crosswalk at the intersection of Grant Avenue and Lanark Street.

“Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service members were on scene when police arrived and the pedestrians were transported to hospital in stable condition for precautionary measures,” Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson Const. Dani McKinnon said.

“The driver, who was not on scene when police arrived, has been identified and is co-operating with police.”

McKinnon said the investigation into the incident is ongoing, but no charges have been laid at this point.

Police told the Free Press at one point Thursday that the incident was a hit-and-run but later said that has yet to be determined.

No evidence of the incident remained near the scene by late morning.

When school let out around 3:30 p.m., two crossing guards were stationed at the intersection wearing fluorescent safety vests and activating the crosswalk lights — which were fully operational — before ushering children and adults across the street.

When the roadway was clear, a steady stream of motorists cruised past. A Winnipeg School Division spokesperson referred to the crossing location as “very busy.”

Multiple parents who were parked near the school waiting to pick up their children said school officials had notified them about the incident via email earlier in the day.

“I have a daughter is in the same class as that little (child who was struck),” said one mother, who did not provide her name. “The school brought in some extra people for the kids to talk to.”

One neighbour who lives near the crosswalk but did not witness the collision said it is frequently used by parents who park on the south side of Lanark before walking their kids to school.

As far as the man is aware, the lights have always functioned normally and vehicles typically stop as expected, he said.

“It doesn’t seem like a trouble spot, but if I had kids, I’d just be careful; you’ve got to be careful at every corner,” he said.

While Lanark is designated as a school zone to the north and south of the intersection, motorists travelling eastbound or westbound on Grant are not required to slow their speeds below the 50 kilometre per hour speed limit.

At least one home on Lanark has a yard sign urging drivers to “please slow down.”

Collisions between drivers and pedestrians are not uncommon on city streets.

City council approved the Road Safety Strategic Action Plan in 2022, a year in which drivers killed 11 pedestrians in Winnipeg.

The document outlined several infrastructure improvements and safety recommendations, including the creation of a road safety committee, a road safety branch within the public works department and three new full-time safety-focused staff positions.

One of those positions was filled early this year, a city spokesperson said Thursday.

The 2023 city budget allocated $282,000 in funding for the project.

In just over a year, the WPS has issued news releases on 10 incidents in which pedestrians were seriously injured or killed by motorists.

Of those, four occurred in the last two months.

Most recently, a 23-year-old woman died after being struck by a 58-year-old driver in the 1400 block of Pembina Highway the night of Jan. 26.

Investigators learned the woman had run in front of the vehicle, which was travelling southbound on Pembina near Clarence and Boston Avenues.

The driver stopped and remained on scene to speak with attending officers.

On the morning of Jan. 13, an 18-year-old man was struck and killed near Notre Dame Avenue and Cecil Street.

Investigators again determined the victim had run in front of the involved vehicle, which was heading southbound on Notre Dame.

Police said the driver stopped his vehicle, called police and provided emergency medical care to the victim until ambulance arrived. He remained on scene and spoke with officers.

The week prior, a 48-year-old man was killed after being run over by a motorist attempting to pull into a car wash. The man had been lying near the entrance, police said.

Finally, a woman died after a driver struck her near Kildonan Place mall on Jan. 5.

Police said the victim had been involved in an earlier collision with another vehicle, got out of her car to exchange information with the other motorist and was hit by a passing truck.

The driver remained on scene.

Thursday’s collision is not the first time a child accompanied by an adult was hit by a vehicle at a city crosswalk.

Rezene Habtegergish, 4, and her mother were hit by a vehicle at a crosswalk on Isabel Street at Alexander Avenue the morning of March 18, 2019. Rezene later died.

Surafiel Musse Tesfamariam, 8, was struck and killed at a crosswalk on St. Anne’s Road, between Bank and Varennes avenues, the morning of Feb. 13, 2018. He was crossing the road with his mother. Signs were later put up on Varennes with the honorary name Surafiel Way.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca