Seven year old girl hit and killed
 

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_14159.aspx

saw this on local news today. Shame, really.

Seven-Year-Old Girl Dies After Being Hit By Car In Scarborough
Tuesday August 28, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff

It's the kind of tragedy that just shouldn't happen. A seven-year-old girl is dead after being struck by a car near Warden and Sheppard. The accident happened on Bay Mills Boulevard around 12:45pm Tuesday.

Police say she was crossing the road on her bike when she was struck. Witnesses confirm a van that hit the child had initially stopped for a boy on his own two-wheeler just seconds before. Once the boy passed, the vehicle started to roll forward and the driver apparently didn't see the girl until she was literally in front of him. By then, it was too late.

"This bicycle just rode across in front of the vehicle," said witness Anan Mahibir. "There's not too much the driver could really do."

The accident occurred right in front of the victim's home. Her distraught father rushed to her side to tend to his injured daughter. "The father was trying to talk to her, trying to get the child to breathe a little," Mahibir continued. "The child was in and out."

The youngster, who witnesses say was named Victoria, was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment, but doctors couldn't save her. "The driver didn't see that female crossing the street ... and as a result struck her, knocking her to the ground and dragging her a short distance," said Toronto Police Sgt. Gary McBratney, Traffic Services.

"She was taken to Scarborough Grace Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries."

The shocked driver just stood at the side of the road shaking following the tragic collision. It's alleged the girl was not wearing a helmet as she rode. "A helmet might have helped, because the impact wasn't that hard," Mahibir lamented.

:(

Horrible. My daughter is seven. Horrible. I can't imagine.

Terrible. Strengthens my resolve to have the boys were helmets, even in the driveway, who knows if it would help but it shouldn't hurt. I can't imagine seeing this happen to your own kid - or even being the driver.

Truly heart-wrenching story. But, I've gotta ask, where the heck was her father when this happened? I have kids about that age, but there's no way I'd let them cross a road, even the one outside my house which is a dead end with very little traffic, unless I'm standing next to them checking that it's clear first, and we've drummed into them not to cross a road without mummy or daddy from as soon as they could walk.

It may sound harsh, but if a child dies like that, it's more than likely due to some measure of negligence on the part of the parent or other adult whose care they are under.

I'll agree with you. I am over protective of my kids, but so what. My son is almost 9 and I can't really recall letting him ride anywhere without my eyes on him.

I came home from work one evening, and just as I crossed the sidewalk to go up to my front door, I heard a car skid, and saw a young boy hit right in the head by a car. He was lying under the wheels of the car, as I rushed over. Looking at the driver, I could see that she wasn't aware that she hit somebody, and I saw her starting to put her car in gear. I put up a "stop" sign with my hand, and proceeded to tend to the boy. He was unconscious, and had a lump on his head like I've never seen.

To make a long story short, I'll just say that he survived, and his mother later came by and thanked me. A happier ending than the plight of this poor young girl and her family. Darn...

Wow, at that age my sisters and I rode our bikes to school about a mile and a half, crossing many roads including one with a posted 70mph speed limit. A nine year old who can't ride his bike without his parents watching is doomed to be a social pariah. On rare occasions a child meets a tragedy such as this one but diabetes and arteriosclerosis are much bigger risks to our kids than traffic.

Since the girl was hit in front of her house, and the father rushed to her side, it sounds like he was right there. Since the van had stopped & her brother had just crossed, perhaps the father thought that it was "clear". I really love <heavy sarcasm> how you're already judged that the victim's father is negligent.

I have a question for you, since it is so much more likely that your kids will be killed in a car accident while riding with you/your spouse than it is that they'll be killed on your dead end street, don't you think it is very negligent of you to every take them anywhere in a vehicle? I think you should keep them padlocked in their rooms & remove anything that might injure them, such as the bed because they could fall off it.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_14208.aspx

here's a follow up to the story. Nothing conclusive yet, but the circumstances as to why it happened are being uncovered.

"
Child's Desire To Retrieve A Dog's Leash May Have Led To Death Of 7-Year-Old Cyclist

Wednesday August 29, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff
It may have been as simple as going back to get a dog's leash. Toronto Police continue to probe a terrible accident that claimed the life of a 7-year-old girl. Little Victoria Ann Hazel was hit by a car in the Warden and Sheppard area just after the noon hour on Tuesday. Cops have been trying to figure out what happened to her ever since.
The incident took place at a crosswalk, just after a trio had used the safe passage to get across the street. "Three of them had crossed the roadway, including Victoria," explains Det Wally Watts. "The two that remained on the south side had a dog underneath their arm and had a bicycle as well. We believe that Victoria went back to retrieve the dog's leash and was in the process of taking it across to the south side to where the two other pedestrians were."
And that's when her apparently unexpected movement took the driver by surprise. "The investigation will be continuing looking at specifically causation," Watts outlines. "What causes something like this to happen? What failed? Is it driver error? Is it poor driver judgment? Is it pedestrian error? The rules that govern vehicles approaching or at a crosswalk are very, very clear. The rules governing a cyclist or a pedestrian at a crosswalk are very, very clear. So we'll be looking into those."
But Watts notes reports that the driver was talking on his cell phone at the time are false. He only used his mobile to call 911 after the accident. There's also no indication that speed was a factor. Authorities are still pondering whether charges will be laid.
The family is pleading for privacy as they make funeral plans. The girl's father watched in horror as his child was hit, rushing to her side, begging her not to die. It was a final request that sadly wouldn't be granted. She was rushed to Scarborough Grace Hospital, but doctors couldn't save her. A trust fund is in the works to help the grief stricken relatives and will be listed on CityNews.ca when details become available.
"

Who's judging? I made it pretty clear I was speculating.

Who's jumping to conclusions now?

We've just started letting our 9yo ride home from school on his own. He's been riding to school since grade one under supervision (and before that on a trailer-bike), so we are confident in his abilities to cross roads safely. It can still be a bit nerve-wracking to turn your kids loose from the nest for the first time though. He also knows to never enter a zebra crossing until he's sure that all cars have stopped for him.

I know I bombed around my neighbourhood on my bike with friends at a younger age than that, but times are different, and I grew up in a small town. It's all about calculating risk and acting appropriately - pining for the good old days helps no-one.

wow, very sad story.

our kids are a bit older and younger than this, and we've drummed into them to always look for cars while biking -- they seem to do this.

they always wear helmets. it helps that mom and dad do, too, when they zoom by on their big fancy bikes. the other day my son ran into my car while on his bike, hitting the rear of the car pretty hard. i'm sure the helmet prevented a head bump.

i've seen a kid around here run out into the street to chase a ball, right as a car is approaching. running after a ball or whatever seems like a typical and natural kid thing to do.

My older daughter turns seven on Saturday, and loves riding her bike.

We used to ride our bikes everywhere when we were kids. We used to play baseball in the street. I think it's true, times have changed. Too many powerful cars on the road, too many people in a hurry, too many distracted drivers.

I don't know, but I'm overly cautious when I drive my car and I see kids playing on the sidewalk. Any second they could dart out onto the street.
But then.. I have youngsters on my own, I observed that behavior on mine when they were in 'safety training'

I rode to school and back at that age too...all over the place and they didn't wear helmets. This was a tragedy but let's not blame the victim.

My favorite part. He's right, there's not much the driver could have done except CHECK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING.

Oh give me a break. You are WAY overprotective. I walked back and forth to school from the time I started first grade and used to tear around the neighborhood on my bike to play. I ain't that old either, so we're not talking about the 50's.

Sometimes tragedies happen and they are nobody's fault and there wasn't really anything that could be done to prevent them. This is one of those cases.

Tell me about it. My grand nephew (hes 6) just started first grade yesterday and while at the bus stop with him (our own driveway) i counted no less than 8 parents (know they are because seen the same vehicles today i did yesterday doing the very same thing) flying up the road after dropping off their own kids at school. I can only wonder why they are so stupid and in such a hurry to get home when they know that the drive in question is a bus stop. I give them the benefit of doubt (hard to see drive way) today but tomorrow all bets are off and i start making them slow down one way or the other.

I agree that this is an awful story, and it might well play out that the driver was not particularly negligent, any more than thousands of others who drive in Scarborough every day. We may find that we can rule out intent or negligence on the part of the driver, however.

If the driver was a) walking, b) riding a bike, or possibly c) driving a motor vehicle with a better view out front and down low than a van, it is quite likely that the child would not have sustained fatal injuries.

Lets all think about this next time we decide to get behind the wheel of a car, and if we can, maybe we'll take some other means to get around next time and reduce the road carnage, by reducing the number of motor vehicles on the road.

And I hope that people who read this story think twice before they purchase a 'safe' motor vehicle with limited sightlines, or any motor vehicle whatsoever.

You may have already seen this video, but just in case you haven't, I think you'll love it:

http://www.channel4.com/player/v2/pl...sp?showId=5677

Enjoy :)

Here's what I get:

At this time I get the same for many choices within that website.

Dear HH and Sj, even when I click the link in your quote it still works ok for me. I once had difficulty getting streaming from Britain on a different site. I wonder if streaming licensing has something to do with it? Maybe I can try downloading the newsclip and then putting it on limewire?

EDIT: don't think I can, I wrote to them to see...

TOO BAD it's really an interesting clip about the complete integration of all users: peds, cyclists and motorists, with fewer signs and barriers... I posted it for Maddyfish because his signature states he fights segregation as I.