Memorial mass for Ukrainian girl Mariia Legenkovska, one year later

“Everything has changed” says the mother of Mariia Legenkovska, the seven-year-old Ukrainian girl who was fatally hit by a car in Montreal nearly one year ago.

Galyna Legenkovska says “it’s been a difficult year” mourning her little girl, and a challenge for her siblings.

“They think about her a lot, they talk about her,” Legenkovska said. “They would always play together, and when there’s two of them playing together they always remember Mariia.”

Legenkovska spoke to CityNews through a translator, Simon Kouklewsky.

“The 13th of December is the first anniversary so they’re commemorating a little bit earlier,” Kouklewsky said. “They miss her very much, of course.”

“Things have changed.”

On Dec. 13, 2022, Mariia was killed in the Ville-Marie borough while walking to school with her brother and sister by a driver who fled the scene. The family had just moved to Montreal two months earlier to escape the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Sentencing for the driver, who later turned himself in to police, is expected soon.

Nearly a year to the day after the incident, her mother is keeping her daughter’s memory alive.

“She was a joyful child, a very intelligent child,” Kouklewsky said. “Today, they’ve lit a candle which will be lit all day. She’s going to have some people over to commemorate, to remember Mariia. Also, on the anniversary the candle will be burning all day.”

On Sunday, members of Montreal’s Ukrainian community came together for a memorial mass dedicated to Mariia at Saint Sophie Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. It’s the same church where the funeral was held Dec. 21, 2022.

Mariia’s passing impacted many in Montreal’s Ukrainian community, including Father Kouchnir Volodymyr, who keeps a picture of Mariia in his office.

“We are going through that pain, that sorrow, it affects everybody,” he said.

“Always, we have to be a community, together. It’s much easier for us to talk to each other.”

Improving pedestrian safety

Since the tragic event, the city has implemented measures to increase pedestrian safety near the school Mariia was walking to.

“Back in July, they made a few changes…” said Christopher McCray, the co-founder of Collectif: Apaisement pour Sainte-Marie. “So the main ones were the direction of the street was switched towards the north so that drivers are going up the hill instead of down the hill. And then Fullum (Street) next to Parthenais (Street) was made a one way.

“The bike lanes were improved as well. And then there were a couple more changes to the street next to the school, the direction of the street was changed to avoid shortcuts through the neighbourhood.”

Despite those changes, McCray says more can be done.

“We kind of need the city to put in place the same kind of measures elsewhere, so like further to the east for example, to the south of that school,” he said.