Farida Abdurahman hit-and-run death spurs calls for flashing pedestrian light
CBC News | Posted: July 29, 2015 12:02 PM | Last Updated: July 29, 2015
33-year-old the 4th pedestrian killed on Calgary streets this year
A fatal hit and run at a marked crosswalk in north Calgary earlier this week has renewed efforts to get a pedestrian light installed at the intersection.
Farida Abdurahman, 33, was struck by a car as she crossed Centre Street North near 43rd Avenue in Highland Park at about 11:15 p.m. on Monday.
She died in hospital.
Police found the damaged car a few hours later on Fourth Street northeast and later announced they were questioning a person of interest.
They have since charged 58-year-old Robert Mark Varley with hit and run causing death.
Petition launched
Local resident Sharon MacKenzie says she has been asking the city for years to install a flashing pedestrian light.
"I've been here about three years in this house and it should have been done three years ago because there's been more accidents along here," she said.
"The police even sit here hiding there for speeders coming up that hill, and it's a very bad traffic hazard for speeders coming up that hill."
A petition is now circulating in the area to get a light installed.
"This young woman shouldn't have been killed because this city doesn't want to put a pedestrian light on a blind spot of Centre Street," said area resident Ashley Bergmann.