St. Georges Ave. collision victim succumbs to injuries
Thursday, October 04, 2012 by: SooToday.com Staff
CITY POLICE
NEWS RELEASE
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Fatal motor vehicle collision
On the 3rd of October 2012 at approximately 8:35 a.m., officers from the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service were called to St. Georges Ave. at the entrance to St. Basils High School for a report of a pedestrian being struck by a motor vehicle.
As a result a 56-year-old male was transported to the Sault Area Hospital by ambulance and later flown to Sudbury where he succumbed to his injuries.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that the pedestrian was walking westbound on the sidewalk on the south side of St. Georges Ave, when he was struck by an east bound pickup truck being driven by a 48-year-old male that was turning into the driveway at St Basils.
The identity of the victim will be withheld until notification of the family has been completed.
The investigation is being conducted by officers of Traffic Services and anyone who may have information with regards to this collision is encouraged to contact Cst Joe Poderys at (705)949-6300 ext 383.
If you have any information regarding these crimes, or any other crime, call Crime Stoppers at 705-942-7867 or 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), submit an e-tip from the Crime Stoppers’
website or text keyword SSM with your tip to 274637.
Text STOP to 274637 to cancel.
Text HELP to 274637 for help.
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Earlier SooToday.com coverage of this story
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RHC14 10/4/2012 11:13:32 AM ReportSuch a dangerous entrance. So much happening before and after school. Vehicles turning in and out. Students crossing the road. Vehicles turning out from the Grand Subdivision. There should be a catwalk over St. Georges at the end of Wilson Street. Easily done.
anam_cara 10/4/2012 11:14:05 AM ReportHow fast was that driver going so that he killed a pedestrian while making a turn into a driveway? What a sad tragic event that was so preventable.
Sam C 10/4/2012 11:29:56 AM ReportRHC... a cat walk in that location wouldn't solve the problem -- there are three other streets that pedestrians could exit and cross St George's.
As well, in this case the pedestrian was not crossing the road -- he was walking along the sidewalk, as he should have been doing.
anam_cara... a vehicle doesn't have to be going very fast to cause fatal injuries.
This is indeed an unfortunate tragedy. My thoughts are with the family and friends of both the victim and the driver.
Stugatzu 10/4/2012 12:05:38 PM Reportanam_cara: You can't always blame speed to be the issue or cause of death. We're talking about a fragile human body (we all are) versus a truck that weighs in at over 5000 lbs. Whether the impact is 30 km/h or 3km/h, if you take the hit the wrong way - you aren't long for this world.
That's a dangerous stretch of road, and always has been. They really need to put up a traffic light for traffic that comes off Grand Blvd, and one by St. Mary's Ukranian church before that curve. The current location of that traffic light is ridiculous.
RHC14 10/4/2012 12:10:17 PM ReportOf Course, in this case. But what about all the other close calls with students crossing the road.
Thoughts and prayers to the families involved.
geterdun 10/4/2012 12:20:56 PM ReportIts not about the lights or cross walks its about peoples driving skills and thats it.......tell me how do you not see a person walking on the side walk were they are suppose to be????unless you are not watching what you are doing..maybe talking or texting on a cell phone?eating toast,putting on make up,shaving,drinking coffee, lighting a cigarette SPEEDING in a rush????? whatever else your doing your not driving if you are doing something else.....And now unfortunately the fellow has died and the person who hit him has to live with this .......And now what????????? You can pick what ever reason you want to justify your driving actions but the bottom line is you are responsible for your actions or inactions when you are driving..Sorry but you cant blame anyone but yourself when you dont concentrate when you are driving......
scraphappymom 10/4/2012 12:24:52 PM ReportLast June I talked to the ADSB about our issues crossing at the bottom of St. Georges, and eventually I moved on to voice my concerns with the City. I warned them that there is always kids waiting to cross at the bottom, by Maple street, and I find it very dangerous for me as an adult! I walk my kids to Northern Heights. Their solution(The City) was to cross at the top by St. Basils where there is a medium for safety. I told them I did not feel this was any safer. I know this poor guy was just walking on the sidewalk, but people are so careless, and in such a hurry here. At the bottom, cars come so fast over the hill crest, I felt it was not any safer there either. Sometimes we start across at the bottom of the hill, and it is clear, but by the time we are half way across there is someone flying over the hill and we have to sprint across. I made my concerns known. The moral of the story is everyone just needs to slow down, and be aware of people crossing. My sympathies go out to the family of the victim. It is so sad and was preventable.
baw50 10/4/2012 12:26:26 PM ReportWTH? East bound truck means he was coming up the hill & the man was Westbound FACING the truck as it hit him! If the truck was going slow, the man should hav been able to get out of the way, unless he was handicapped. Either the report is wrong or the driver was speeding, texting or had his eyes shut! WTH? Some Thing Definitely Wrong! Since the Driver was Eastbound! he didn't have to cross 2 lanes of traffic to get into the parking lot! SO, WHY DID HE NOT SLOW DOWN TO LEAVE THE STREET, AND CROSS THE SIDEWALK WHERE THE MAN WAS WALKING?
Fat Boy 10/4/2012 1:18:49 PM ReportNot one of us was riding in that truck to be able to say with any certainty what did or did not distract the driver. I have been driving for 26 years and have on more then one occasion had a close call. I have been fortunate. I am sure any other person who sits behind the wheel of a car or truck can say the same thing. If you claim you can't then I call you a liar. This person (man or woman) now needs to deal with the guilt of taking another's life either by action or inaction. The family of the victim needs to deal with the loss of an innocent loved one. Debating the pros and cons on here does nothing to begin the healing process. Maybe we should all just give our condolences and leave it at that.
frauleinbroomhilda 10/4/2012 1:38:57 PM ReportPeople...stop arguing and give your condolences to this poor person's family and friends. On that note...My Deepest Condolences and my heart goes out to the victims family. :(
babootzoo 10/4/2012 2:40:38 PM ReportSpeed and not paying attention!! Sad!
Jimssm 10/4/2012 3:02:37 PM ReportI go by this area every morning and this is a very dangerous area with all the school activity.
In the drivers defence, at this time of year the sun is directly in your eyes if you are coming up the hill. It would be quite easy to miss a pedestrian even if you were being careful.
lineman3 10/4/2012 3:24:56 PM ReportI agree with most of what is being said!!! Im sure not defending the driver but both Second Line Hill and St. Georges Hill are always dangerous in the morning from the bright sun shining in your eyes as you hit the top of both hills....Like i said not defending the drive!!!!
SipKing 10/4/2012 4:21:54 PM ReportAND now in all their wisdom the HSCDSB is going to turn this into an Elementary school, approx 600 students between the ages of 4 and 14 years old. What is this boards thinking.I know many families that have young children that will be attending this school, all within a 5 to 10 minute walk to the school, Yes they could catch a bus at 7:30 am or they can just leave the house at 8:15 am and walk to school, my guess is the 12 and older children will walk. Has this school board considered how they will monitor children leaving during the school day. This is a BAD location for a high school and worse yet for an Elementary school.
Having said that, school starts at 8:40 am is it possible this person in the Truck was in a hurry to get someone to school.
Dead End Kid 10/4/2012 4:26:14 PM ReportHey Stugazu, Where's your common sense on this issue. Speed and not paying attention to what your doing can lead to serious injury or death as opposed to going at a slower rate of speed and having more reaction time. I speak for myself and I'm sure many others that we are sometimes in a hurry and are guilty of traveling faster than we should be. With that being said, aggressive drivers not paying attention are potentially lethal on our roadways.
LISDER 10/4/2012 5:40:55 PM ReportDead End Kid...you are right on the money on that one! My condolences to the victim's family. The driver was careless and nothing short of it period. Karma.
moem 10/4/2012 8:58:11 PM ReportMy condolences to the victim's family, I can't even imagine how they must feel. As for the driver, it seems unlikely that he or shewas speeding making the turn. He or she was certainly not paying enough attention but as one of the other readers points out we are all careless one time or another but this time it cost a man his life! It's a reminder to us all to be more careful but we can't put lights everywhere there is an accident, a light there would be dangerous in the winter. Lights do not stop tragedies like this anyway, there will always be careless people. The sun can sometimes be a factor in these accidents. I can say for sure that I wouldn't want to be the driver of the vehicle right now either, it's sad for him or her as well, not to mention it's either a teacher or parent or worse a student who will have to live with this and their family will likely face backlash and ridicule as well!! If indeed the driver is charged with drunk driving, was texting or is charged with wreckless driving then I will certainly have no sympathy but if it turns out to be a true accident then I will feel for them as well and either way I feel for their family. I truly hope that the victim's family cam get at least some closure soon and begin to heal their broken hearts after this needless tragedy!
Stugatzu 10/4/2012 9:17:06 PM ReportDead End Kid: I think you need to re-read what I said. I simply said that ANY speed impact can be fatal if the hit was taken wrong. I was not saying anything about speeding, so I do not understand the reason for your singling out my comment. Maybe you didn't understand it, but my comments are still valid.
Dead End Kid 10/4/2012 10:51:40 PM ReportSorry Stugazo, I understand your point. I guess I took exception to your opening statment"you can't always blame speed to be the issue or cause or death." WE all know a person can be easily injured in many different circumstances but the point being speed kills and Id rather take my chances being hit by a car at 3kms per hour than 30kms per hour however I do understand your point as you were differentiating in that you don't always have to be traveling at a high rate of speed to injure someone and with that said, I apologize to you for my "jumping of the gun". Good day to you sir!
LastRide000 10/5/2012 4:01:52 PM Report The guy that died lives pretty much across the street from me. I don't see a name listed so I don't want to say who it is. He was a real nice guy. Leaving behind a wife and daughter. St Georges is a dangerous area. The sun plays tricks with your eyes.
Me and two friends got into a little fender bender there years ago. Both people in the front of the car didn't see the vehicle coming from the west heading east, and we were crossing St Georges from Spruce street. Another older lady on our street killed her niece vacationing from Italy I believe was crossing in the same place as I did years ago.
SipKing 10/5/2012 5:27:41 PM ReportIronic the teacher that hit him also has a wife and one daughter. How tragic for all. Again this morning on my way to work I drove the same route and was nearly blinded by the sun, you could barely see. So before we jump the gun and use words such as careless and speed lets focus our attention on the two families that are both devastated by this tragic event. I am sure both would love to turn the clocks and have a chance for the day to play out differently.
shju 10/5/2012 6:02:20 PM ReportIf you cant see because of the sun, its called sunglasses or come to a complete stop. 99.9% of every auto accident is caused by human error. The other 1% are animals on highways. Also if you people would take better care of your windows the glare wouldnt bother you so much. I have never seen a person walking just walk into traffic facing the sun. Clean your windows. The driver should be charged with murder. When you sit in that seat you have control of an object that can kill at any time, slow down... pay attention and for gods sake get off the cell phone. No one is that important that they need to talk on one 24/7.
thomas 10/6/2012 5:48:18 AM ReportTragic for both families of the driver and the man killed.
I'm sure you have all heard of a blind spot, and we've all been told to check it when we are driving/turning, but have you ever seen yours? This is quite possibly and IMO, quite likely why the driver never saw this man walking.
Blind spots actually DO exist and we ALL have them.
Here is a perfect example of a moving blind spot, which might have been exactly why the driver didn't see the pedestrian:
http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/want-to-see-your-blind-spot-in-action/
I know that I almost pulled out in front of a motorcycle because he was in my blind spot. Fortunately for him and me, his motorcycle came into my line of vision before I entered the street in front of him. Motorcycles, pedestrians and even cars can fit right into your blind spot, making them virtually disappear.
JustMe1234567 10/7/2012 7:36:54 PM ReportI just want to say I drove up the hill shortly after this incident occurred, and the sun was BLAZING and low in the sky right behind the school.
I had sunglasses on and was still blinded and was only doing 40 k as you are supposed to in that area. But wow I could not see for a couple of seconds and had to hit the brakes.
Not making excuses for the driver, but I thought I would just let you know about what happened to me. I would imagine if I was turning into the driveway, the sun would have blinded me even more as it was at that low angle right behind the school building.
celine1992 10/12/2012 11:26:12 AM ReportYou guys are all ridiculous. You are commenting on an issue you know nothing about. Not one of you was in the vehicle nor on the road. Stop speculating and respect both families as they are BOTH grieving.
Note: Comments that appear on the site are not the opinion of SooToday.com. Keep discussions civil and on topic. Refrain from obscenity and don't post anything that your grandmother would be ashamed to read. Those who do not abide by these guidelines will have their membership revoked without notice. If you see an abusive post, please click the link beside the post to report it.
