Two pedestrians have died after being hit by vehicles in separate incidents Monday evening — including an 11-year-old.
The incident involving the child took place around 7:30 p.m. in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough.
According to police, the driver was turning right onto Bernard Avenue at the corner of Parc Avenue and hit the child while they were crossing the street.
The child was stuck under the vehicle and eventually rushed to hospital, where the death was confirmed. The driver, a 28-year-old man, was not injured.
Police interviewed witnesses and were still investigating by midday Tuesday.
About two hours after that collision, a 78-year-old man was hit by a car in Châteauguay, a city on Montreal’s South Shore. The victim was crossing the street at the corner of St-Jean-Baptiste Boulevard and Dunver Street.
His death was also confirmed in hospital and Châteauguay police are investigating.
The 78-year-old man was hit by a car while crossing the street in Châteauguay, Que. (Alain Beland/Radio-Canada)
On Tuesday, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante took to X to comment on the child’s death and urge drivers to be careful on the roads.
“Another death on our streets, last night. This time it’s an 11-year-old child,” the mayor wrote. “Let’s protect the most vulnerable people on the roads. It’s in everyone’s best interest.”
Fall season presents risks
According to the province’s automobile insurance board, the fall season is particularly dangerous for pedestrians.
In a statement it put out on Oct. 1 to raise awareness about the dangers facing pedestrians, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) said an average of 525 pedestrians suffered injuries after being hit by vehicles during the months of October and November between 2019 and 2023.
André Durocher, CAA-Québec’s community relations and road safety director, was once in charge of investigating road collisions for the Montreal police. He says the weather change and daylight saving time are contributing factors to the spike in collisions during those months.
“People who leave early for work earlier in the morning, it’s still dark. They come home and it’s dark,” Durocher told CBC News.
“When I was head of the collisions investigation unit and we analyzed the various cases … in most cases, they’re due to human error.”
Durocher says drivers should understand that they are in control of a vehicle that weighs thousands of pounds and should do everything they can to protect vulnerable road users.
“When you drive, it’s a full-time job. Keep your eyes on the road and not on your sound system or on your cellphone or on the scenery. Look far, look wide and look for potential dangers,” he said.
He also says pedestrians can improve their safety this time of year by wearing clothes or having items that help make them more visible.
Here are other safety tips from the SAAQ:
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Drivers should check their blind spots, especially those from the windshield.
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Drivers should adapt to poor visibility and slippery roads by slowing down.
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Drivers should respect road signs like speed limits and pedestrian walkways.
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Pedestrians should assume drivers have not seen them if they have not established eye contact.
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Pedestrians should avoid distractions like cellphones and headphones while crossing an intersection.