Family grieves woman killed by truck
Relatives said Doreen Moosewaypayo found mobility on device after strokes
A Pleasant Hill family is grieving the loss of their mother, grandmother and aunt after a woman on a scooter was hit and killed by a gravel truck Friday afternoon.
Stacey Moosewaypayo confirmed Saturday morning that the 55-year-old victim was her aunt Doreen Moosewaypayo.
Saskatoon police say the collision happened around 2 p.m. Friday near the intersection of Avenue F and 20th Street. Doreen lived just two blocks away at Avenue H and 20th, Stacey said. Doreen was rushed to hospital after the collision, but later died from her injuries.
Doreen suffered a couple of strokes several years ago, and had trouble walking as a result. She got the scooter through Telemiracle and “she was all over after that, middle of winter, blizzard, anything, nothing would stop her,” Stacey recalled.
Doreen’s eldest son Ernest Whitehead described her as an “outgoing person” before her strokes. She would go out every day, and everyone knew her, he said.
He also said she was always cautious on her scooter. She would never cross in the middle of the road, Stacey added. Police confirm they have received eyewitness accounts that Doreen was dragged, although there is no word yet how far. Stacey said she saw drag marks extending from the street corner for about a block.
The family has plenty of unanswered questions, and is hoping a thorough investigation will provide answers.
“How could you not feel dragging something, you know, especially it wasn’t a small scooter either,” Stacey asked.
“I’m wondering why (the driver) didn’t see her,” she added, noting the collision happened in a school zone. She wonders if the driver was looking for oncoming vehicles as he was turning. Police say the truck was travelling northbound on Avenue F and turned right to go eastbound when it struck the scooter.
“I don’t think it was intentional, but he could have been more cautious,” she said. She hopes to see charges laid. This is the latest of a string of tragic events the family has suffered in the last few years. Last October, Doreen’s daughter Marcy Moosewaypayo died, and since then two of her children have been in Stacey’s care. (Doreen leaves behind 13 grandchildren.)
There have also been two murders, Stacey said.
Now in the midst of a traffic fatality investigation, the family is trying to plan Doreen’s wake and funeral.
She lived her whole life in Saskatoon, but the family is from Kinistin First Nation, and that is where Doreen will be buried, Stacey said.