Edmonton couple says city streets no safer for pedestrians 2 years after son's death
Andrea Ross | CBC News | Posted: March 24, 2016 3:08 AM | Last Updated: March 24, 2016
Parents say city should be more forceful in warning drivers to slow down
It was a sunny afternoon in January two years ago when Jane Cardillo's doorbell rang.
On her doorstep stood two policemen with terrible news.
Her son, 27-year-old David Finkelman, died after he was hit crossing Whyte Avenue on a green light.
"They came in and just bluntly said that our son had been involved in a pedestrian accident and he didn't make it," she said.
"My response was, 'What do you mean he didn't make it? He didn't make it across the street? He didn't make it home?' And they said, 'No ma'am. He didn't survive.'
"That's when our world just turned upside down. As I'm sure any parent in the same situation would say, it was the worst day of our lives."
Frustrated by lack of progress
Cardillo and her husband, former CBC reporter Steve Finkelman, are speaking out about their son's death after seeing a social media post.
Darren Markland — a critical care doctor in Edmonton — recently tweeted about signing a young man's death certificate.
The man died after being hit in a crosswalk, Markland said, and he sees little evidence the city is taking pedestrian fatalities seriously.
Markland is particularly frustrated by the lack of progress a year after the city adopted Vision Zero, a long-term strategy aimed at eliminating fatalities and major injuries on city roads.
After hearing his interview on CBC's Radio Active Tuesday, the couple said they also haven't seen much change since their son's death. Finkelman said it's important that Dr. Markland drew attention to the fact that each pedestrian fatality isn't just a number, they're someone's entire world.
David wasn't a statistic. He was a 27-year-old with his life ahead of him. - Steve Finkelman
"David wasn't a statistic, he wasn't the first pedestrian fatality of 2014," he said.
"He was a person with a family, with a huge circle of friends, well known in the music circle in university. He was a 27-year-old with his life ahead of him."
This is what drivers and the city alike need to remember, Finkelman said.
The couple spoke at city council when Vision Zero was implemented and Finkelman said he expected the strategy to move forward faster.
"They have the money, they have the program approval, [but we] still don't see much happening, and especially on this advocacy side," he said.
City needs to advocate for pedestrian safety
Cardillo said her son's loss has changed the way she looks at driving.
She and her husband drive defensively and watch carefully for anyone darting onto the road, or for cars running red lights.
She worries about her husband, always telling him to drive carefully. She worries, even more, if he's even five minutes late getting home.
She doesn't want the doorbell to ring again.
Finkelman doesn't want another family to experience their nightmare and said the city has to better advocate for pedestrian safety.
"I think it's so important, I think the city has to get out there and tell people, 'Look, you can't drive fast, you can't drive aggressively, if you do, we will catch you,'" he said.
"Things have to change."