Montreal teen pushing for safer crosswalk after being hit by car on his way to school

Montreal teenager Charlie Shein is not relenting.

The 14-year-old is continuing to push for increased safety measures at a Montreal West crosswalk more than one month after being struck by a car.

Charlie was on his way to school at Royal West Academy in early November when he was hit at the intersection of Westminster Avenue and Ainslie Road.

“The driver had stopped,” Charlie recounted. “And then I had continued crossing and the driver continued driving. And by the time I realized he was about to hit me, it was too late.

“I was just pretty banged up and bruised. I had some bruising on my leg and where I landed and on my arm.”

The Montreal teen suspects the driver didn’t see him because of the sun’s glare.

“I was pretty shocked,” he said. “At first, I didn’t really believe that that could have happened because when I saw the car coming like a split second before, I think I thought ‘there’s no (way) he’s going to hit me.’

“I was pretty afraid and I think I was a little lucky that I didn’t get that hurt. It could have been much worse.”

Charlie’s mother Samara Zavalkoff, a pediatric ICU physician, says she knows firsthand how dangerous serious motor vehicle collisions can be.

“Worst case (is) they don’t even survive the accident, or they end up in the ICU for weeks and even months recovering, and sometimes never fully recovering,” Zavalkoff told CityNews.

Charlie spoke at a city council meeting on Dec. 16, demanding answers about will be done to make the crosswalk safer. Westminster is a major artery that leads to two highways and to community train tracks.

So far the city has installed flashing lights on the stop signs, and Montreal West Mayor Beny Massella says more lines will be painted on the road once winter is over.

A study has been commissioned with the goal of making the traffic spilling onto Westminster more orderly.

Rules governing crossing guards

But Charlie and his family are asking for more measures. “I don’t think the lines are enough,” he said.

“A crossing guard might help, definitely will help make the kids more visible and give the kids their turn to go and the drivers their turn to go.”

Zavalkoff says the family is being told there are “a lot of barriers” to having a crossing guard added there — including that high schools are not eligible.

“Seems to me like an easier fix than a lot of those other things,” she said.

Mayor Massella says he’s been told that introducing a crossing guard at the intersection near the high school would mean removing one from an elementary school.

Crossing guards are under the jurisdiction of Quebec’s Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. In an email to CityNews, spokesperson Sarah Bensadoun wrote: “The Ministry is not mandated to process requests for crossing guards. … To help municipal, police and school authorities make an informed decision, the Guide d’organisation d’une brigade scolaire proposes an approach for evaluating intersections.

“The hiring, training and conditions of employment of school crossing guards are usually the responsibility of municipalities, and may be the responsibility of police forces.”

On Dec 17, volunteers – mostly made up of Royal West Academy parents – counted 491 students crossing at the intersection where Shein was struck.

“I was speaking with our trauma director at the Children’s and she shared data with me that … during school days, Monday to Friday, during school hours, when we look at the number of kids hit by cars or motor vehicles that are six to 12, versus 12 to 17, the rate in the older kids is actually double,” Zavalkoff said.

Montreal police (SPVM) say there has only been one “collision-related event” at the Westminster/Ainslie intersection since 2022.

Authorities add they are continuing their operations on Westminster and other intersections in the area.

“Since mid-November, 20 operations have been held and 36 statements of offence have been issued to motorists,” wrote an SPVM spokesperson in an email to CityNews.