Saturday, November 9, 2024

‘She will continue to live on’: March to honour Baeleigh Maurice in west Saskatoon

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A crowd of blue shirts marched across Saskatoon’s west side to the beat of drum music.

People gathered along 33rd Street West to honour the life of nine-year-old Baeleigh Maurice on Saturday. Maurice was riding her scooter on the street in 2021 when she was struck and killed by an impaired driver.

Three years later, the community is determined to keep her spirit alive.

“In the end, all we want is justice for Baeleigh,” said Rhane Mahingen, Maurice’s aunt. “And not even that, but for her life to be remembered for what she could have done and what she has done for this community.”

The young girl’s passing has sparked a larger conversation in the city about pedestrian safety.

The family advocated to install a crosswalk in the area Maurice was hit. The crosswalk is blue in her honour, the only one of its kind in Saskatoon.

The family of Baeleigh Maurice advocated for pedestrian safety in the area and a blue crosswalk was installed last year in her honour.

The family of Baeleigh Maurice advocated for pedestrian safety in the area and a blue crosswalk was installed last year in her honour.

The family of Baeleigh Maurice advocated for pedestrian safety in the area and a blue crosswalk was installed last year in her honour. (Halyna Mihalik/CBC)

“33rd is, as we all know, a dangerous street not only for where Baeleigh was hit, but for numerous other places along this road where accidents have occurred,” said Mahingen.

“Children cross here every day, especially on their way to Mayfair school. That’s why this crosswalk is so important, so no other children can be taken away from us before their time.”

The march began at the crosswalk and went on for a few blocks, eventually leading to Maurice’s favourite park.

The community donated food for the group to be able to hold a feast in the park where more drumming was held and sweetgrass was burned.

“I see the blue everywhere and the hugs that are happening,” said Krista Fox, a local advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous people. “It’s good for the soul.”

The accused driver who hit Maurice three years ago, Taylor Kennedy, has been charged with impaired driving causing death.

Court proceedings between both parties have been ongoing since they began last October.

“We need to keep showing up,” said Fox. “There’s no better feeling as a family turning around and seeing a courtroom packed with people who are there supporting them.”

The case will be reconvened in December.

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