‘It’s terrible’: Resident says area where woman killed unsafe for pedestrians

Winnipeg is seeing an alarming number of people getting hit by vehicles while crossing the road, and one resident who regularly uses a crosswalk where a 38-year-old woman was recently killed, says drivers in this corridor are failing to give pedestrians priority.

“It’s terrible. I mean, I see a lot of people almost getting hit,” said Kevin Cowan. 

On May 4th, police were called to the intersection of St. Mary’s Road and Chesterfield Avenue after a serious collision. The victim was taken to hospital but died of her injuries.

READ MORE: Woman killed after being hit by vehicle in Winnipeg Saturday

Police are still investigating, but for Cowan, he’s witnessed firsthand, that drivers here don’t always give pedestrians the right of way.

“They basically don’t stop when the lights are flashing; they tend to try to beat the person going across,” he explained. “It scares me sometimes because I don’t know who is going to be next. Someone I know? Myself?

Patrol Sgt. Brian Neumann says a record six people died following pedestrian-vehicle collisions in the first half of 2024 so far.

“WPS is concentrating on education and enforcement for both drivers and pedestrians, we want to make sure that people are aware that when they’re driving not all pedestrians will act in a predictable manner and it’s very important for pedestrians to be vigilant while on the roadway as well,” said Sgt. Neumann. 

“Unfortunately, it’s not one of those crystal ball moments.”

In the worst-case scenario, Neumann says drivers must stay on scene to talk to police if they hit a pedestrian, but those on foot also have a role to play in curbing the number of crashes by using designated crossings, activating signals and making eye contact with those behind the wheel, saying a single second could save a life. 

“Always wait for vehicles to stop before stepping off the curb and into their path. The lights are not a force field, they’re not going to protect you. They’re just there to notify a driver that you’re going to make an attempt to cross the roadway.”