Montreal Ukrainian leaders react to coroner’s report into 2022 hit-and-run death of 7-year-old girl walking to school

Leaders of Montreal’s Ukrainian community say a Quebec coroner’s report into the fatal hit and run of a seven-year-old Ukrainian refugee in 2022 can’t help but bring them back to that December morning.

Mariia Legenkovska was walking to school with her brother and sister in the Sainte-Marie district on Dec. 13, 2022, when a Jeep Grand Cherokee fatally struck her. The driver drove away without stopping but turned himself in to police later that day.

Mariia and her family moved to Montreal in 2022 to escape the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“It brings up memories of a terrible tragedy for a family who was escaping a war-torn invasion, genocidal invasion of Ukraine by Russia,” said Michael Shwec, the president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) Quebec Provincial Council.

“They escaped war, they escaped death, hoping to find refuge in this country and were presented with a different kind of a tragedy,” added Simon Kouklewsky, the mission coordinator for Saint Sophie Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral.

Coroner Éric Lépine said in a recent report the girl’s death was accidental, caused by the driver’s failure to stop fully at an intersection as well as the blinding morning sun. He is recommending strengthened measures to protect pedestrian safety.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Kouklewsky said. “It’s a sobering reminder of how fragile pedestrian safety can be.”

Since her death, many in Montreal’s Ukrainian community and beyond have not forgotten about Mariia.

“Number one is our hearts still go out to the family who every Christmas are forced to relive this tragedy,” said Schwec.

“My sense of Mariia’s parents is that it was a tragic accident,” Kouklewsky added. “To my knowledge, they don’t really want to comment on it. … But they want to move on in terms of living their lives. And what happened is tragic and obviously they’re going to grieve for the rest of their lives.”

Last year, the driver who hit Mariia pleaded guilty to failing to stop after an accident. He was sentenced to one year of house arrest.

Some of the main coroner recommendations to improve pedestrian safety are for the city to install speed bumps, bollards and curb extensions at intersections. As well, the coroner emphasized that the province should add sun glare to the list of criteria used to determine when deciding when a crossing guard should be placed at an intersection.

“We need these measures,” said Katherine Korakakis, the president of the English Parents’ Committee Association of Quebec. “We’ve been talking about measures like what the coroner stated in his report. But what happens is because we don’t have a body to oversee road safety for pedestrians, there’s no accountability that these things have to be put in place.”

“We welcome all of the ideas that the coroner puts forward because we believe that it’ll improve safety for everybody,” Shwec added.

In a written response to CityNews, Transport Québec says it pays particular attention to the recommendations made by the coroner’s office following a fatal accident, adding that each of them is rigorously analyzed.

The City of Montreal says the safety of road users, particularly the most vulnerable ones, remains a top priority for officials. It touted measures implemented by the previous administration – such as the School Zone Safety Program – as part of the city’s goal to achieve zero deaths and serious injuries on the road by 2040.

Jean-François Gagné, with the group “Pas une mort de plus,” says the Quebec government is to blame for a lack of advancement in safety since Mariia’s death.

“The provincial government with the CAQ, they promised a plan, a security plan for the kids in the school zones and they failed. They failed,” Gagné said. “They promised millions for new infrastructure for security around schools and they removed it one year after.”