‘Happens so fast’: Montreal parents call for more vigilance, photo radars after two children struck in separate incidents

Two children were hit Thursday morning in separate incidents in Montreal.

The first incident happened at 8:10 a.m. in front of Christ-Roi Elementary in Ahuntsic.

A six-year-old was hit by the driver of a small school bus, after unexpectedly walking out from between two parked vehicles. The bus driver was travelling down Lajeunesse and was unable to avoid him.

Then at 9:40 a.m., in downtown Montreal, at the corner of René-Lévesque and Crescent, a three-year-old was hit by an SUV under similar circumstances. He escaped from his guardians and tried crossing the street.

Authorities say both suffered head injuries but are recovering well, but the incidents are prompting calls for more vigilance on the roads, especially around school zones.

“Even if everyone is super careful, it happens so fast. Yesterday was an example, it was really scary,” said Mélina Mailhot, a parent of three and witness to the incident in Ahuntsic.

“I heard a sound, which really looked like two cars hitting one another, it was the same sound actually,” she said. “And then when I looked, I saw the kid falling down in front of the bus.”

Mailhot says police intervened quickly and the child was sent to hospital.

“As ironic as it may seem, yesterday was a day where parents were collecting signatures to pressure the government,” said Mailhot.

Parent Frédéric Dufresne arrived 10 minutes after the accident in Ahuntsic and signed the petition from Projet Montréal, urging Quebec to give municipalities the power to install photo radars, since only the province is able to do so right now.

“Cars go very fast,” Dufresne said. “There’s no light under the railway, so people forget that it’s a school area.”

The two accidents came a day after Mayor Valerie Plante announced $14 million will go towards making 32 high schools, elementary schools and daycares, as well as five parks, safer. 

Plante took to social media platform X on Thursday saying her thoughts go out to the families of these children.

“Taking action to make travel safer is not a slogan, it is a priority. When we deploy more photo radars and accelerate the development of safer, human-scale living environments, we save lives,” she wrote.

Dans les dernières heures :

· Un enfant happé dans le centre-ville en allant à la garderie
· Un enfant happé dans Ahuntsic-Cartierville en allant à l’école

Heureusement, on ne craint pas pour leur vie. Le @SPVM est mobilisé. Toutes mes pensées vont aux familles de ces enfants.…

— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) September 5, 2024

Plante reiterated that the City is asking the Quebec government for more photo radars in Montreal.

“We must do everything we can to protect the travel of the most vulnerable,” she said.

Ahuntsic resident David Rivest lives in front of Christ-Roi Elementary and says says there’s supposed to be a photo radar in the school zone.

“It’s barely there, I think I’ve seen it once since the school started,” he said, suggesting it should be there every day. “They actually said that this is the one that generates the most revenue and it’s not just about money, but it’s about security.

“This should be a permanent presence, so that people when they come in, they know that there’s a photo radar. There’s a consequence when they don’t actually respect the speed limit.”

In a statement to CityNews, Quebec’s Transport Ministry says work is ongoing for the next deployment of photo radars and experts are currently looking into strategies, the types and number of devices to acquire.

Sergio Gaudio from Ahuntsic suggests removing parked cars near schools.

“As much as you might want to bring down speed, even if you’re rolling at 25, if a kid runs between two cars, you’re not going to see them until it’s too late,” he said. “So thinking about just generally visibility.”

Executive director of Piétons Québec, Sandrine Cabana-Degani, says it’s about being prudent, especially as traffic is climbing back to pre-pandemic levels.

“I would say to all people behind the wheel to be very careful when they move around places where there’s children like schools, daycare, parks, and other places,” she said. “And be aware too, because sometimes children can be unpredictable.”

For parent Dufresne, he says he wants to see changes so his children can eventually walk to school on their own.

“We want them to be as safe as possible and allow them to walk very young alone here,” he said.