Woman charged in elderly pedestrian's death
CBC News | Posted: February 19, 2014 8:13 PM | Last Updated: February 19, 2014
Reversing pickup truck struck 91-year-old man, dragged him 125 metres
A 26-year-old woman has been charged in connection with a hit and run that killed a 91-year-old pedestrian last month.
The man, who was using a walker, was on the sidewalk in the 8500 block of 48th Avenue northwest when he was hit by a Dodge Ram pickup truck backing out of a driveway.
He became entangled in a hitch on the truck and was dragged for about 125 metres, police said.
The driver left the scene without stopping, unaware of what had happened.
She is now charged with unsafe backing. If found guilty, the penalty can include a fine of more than $2,000, six months in jail and a three-month driving suspension.
She will be in court again on April 28.
Pedestrian safety
Police say pedestrian collisions have been on the rise since 2011.
There have been three deaths so far in 2014, and the city saw nine pedestrian deaths last year.
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- Separate pedestrian-vehicle crashes keep paramedics busy
Road safety expert Alex de Barros says the risk of death for a pedestrian in a collision rises exponentially when the speed of the vehicle is above 30 kilometres per hour.
"And we still have pedestrian crossings at places where the speed limit is 60 or even higher, so this is a problem and this is something we actually have to deal with it," said de Barros.
- Listen to his full interview on the Calgary Eyeopener below:
He said solutions can be costly and complicated. He said crossings cannot be removed, because pedestrians would cross illegally, but slowing down the traffic could also cause problems.
"There is no simple solution," said de Barros. "What we need is a system approach."
But he believes that many cities in North America are moving towards more pedestrian-friendly intersections.