Girl, 6, dies in hospital after car struck pedestrians at strip mall
A horrific accident Sunday at a strip mall near Lions Park in Port Coquitlam has claimed the life of a six-year-old girl.
On Monday, Mounties confirmed the girl died in hospital from injuries she suffered in a mishap in which four pedestrians were struck by a car. One person has been released from hospital, while two remain in serious condition.
According to RCMP, the incident happened just before 4 p.m. when a woman who was learning to drive lost control of her vehicle and hit the pedestrians and two parked cars in the lot of the strip mall.
Police note the driver, who was accompanied by a passenger, remained at the scene and is co-operating with investigators.
The roads around the area at Shaughnessy Street and Lions Way were shut for hours. Investigators are still looking to speak to witnesses.
Sebastian Pop, owner of a hobby shop in the strip mall, has video surveillance of the incident but didn’t want to give it to the media.
However, Pop described what the video shows. He said the car involved was making a right turn into the mall when it inexplicably accelerated into a parked car, striking the pedestrians.
“It actually moved very slow, below speed, I would say 30 (km/h) ... and as soon as they turned right, they seemed to have accelerated and just slammed into the parked vehicle — it made no sense,” said Pop, who wasn’t in the store at the time.
Elio Pavlicevic and Elena Defazio were in their apartment in a highrise across the street. Defazio was standing on her balcony when she saw the point of impact, while Pavlicevic called police. When he looked out, he saw a little girl pinned under a vehicle. “It was ugly,” Pavlicevic said. The couple and several other people expressed concern over the traffic in the area since Lions Park reopened in March. Pavlicevic said the streets are busy from dawn to dusk, with kids running around the area, including the parking lot where the accident occurred.
“With the amount of the people, and you watch some of the people drive around here, something’s going to happen,” he said.
Clairissa MacDonald, property manager of the strip mall, expressed similar views. Since the park opened, she said, people continue to park in the mall lot, which they’re not supposed to do. MacDonald said she’s been reluctant to have vehicles towed, but will start to now. She also suggested the city could put up better signage alerting people where they can park if they’re going to the park.
“I feel sorry for the family, I feel sorry for the mother, I feel sorry for the driver,” MacDonald said.