2 MONTHS, 2 CRASHES
FATHER OF DEAD TOT SAYS SAFETY BARRIERS NEED FIX
One (crash) I could feel OK, but two times in two homes? It’s a little bit more than a coincidence, I think
CHRIS BERTRAND
A Calgary man who lost his 18-month-old son in a traffic accident just before Christmas says the city should spare no expense to upgrade safety barriers after a second, similar, fatal crash on the weekend.
Chris Bertrand’s young son, Travis, was killed when the pickup he was a passenger in lost control on Glenmore Trail and crossed the median, colliding with an oncoming tractor-trailer.
Bertrand’s wife, Francina, who was driving, blames herself for the collision. She has been unable to drive since, Bertrand said.
A second crash on the same stretch of Glenmore Trail, between Deerfoot and Blackfoot trails, claimed the life of a 63-year-old woman on Saturday.
She was the front passenger in a Honda Accord struck by a pickup that crashed over the median barrier.
The two incidents prompted discussion at city hall Monday where safety improvements were discussed. But cost concerns were raised as well.
“They shouldn’t put a dollar value on safety,” Bertrand said.
“It’s not all about driver error. In my wife’s case she didn’t even touch the guard rail at all. The barricade was ineffective.
“One (crash) I could feel OK, but two times in two months? It’s a little bit more than a coincidence, I think.”
The family is slowly recovering from the ordeal, Bertrand said.
The couple’s elder son, Zack, 3, underwent emergency surgery two weeks ago when it was discovered he suffered a broken neck in the accident.
He is now wearing a brace and is “doing rather well,” his father said.
“He is still pretty young to comprehend it. He knows his brother’s not coming back.”
Bertrand said his wife has recovered physically from the crash, but not emotionally.
“She’s blaming herself but I’m trying to give her emotional support, (saying) it’s not all her fault; there (were) a number of factors leading to it.
“She hasn’t been able to physically sit in a driver’s seat since.”
Mac Logan, the city’s general manager of transportation, told councillors Monday that staff are working with police investigating Saturday’s accident.
“We’re taking a look at the actual barrier that’s out there and what do we know about it and how is it performing.”
Logan said the city could upgrade the median along Glenmore Trail where the two accidents occurred, possibly increasing the height of the barrier.
“That’s obviously something ideally we’d like to do on this and quite a number of other sections.
“There are many other sections of road where we don’t even have barriers yet, which we would like to add.”
Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said the double tragedy raised serious safety questions, but the city would need to find extra money to pay for barrier upgrades.
“The reality is we could put up a higher and better barrier throughout the city and that would cost a tremendous amount of money and we’d probably have benefits in terms of saving peoples’ lives.
“We don’t have the revenue streams to do that.”
Police have said poor road conditions and excessive speed were contributing factors in both fatal collisions.