Saint John-area woman knits reflective armbands after family tragedy

Mark Evans died on Jan. 15 after being struck be a vehicle as he walked along a dark section of road in Hatfield Point, outside Saint John.

Jacie Clark is hoping she has found a way to help make sure a similar tragedy doesn’t happen.

“You want to make a difference and make this somehow mean something,” Clark, who is the mother-in-law of Evans’ daughter Stephanie, said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "You want to make a difference and make this somehow mean something," Clark, who is the mother-in-law of Evans' daughter Stephanie, said.

Making a difference for Jacie is knitting armbands with reflective yarn.

The “Marked! Visibility Band” is designed to let yourself be seen if you’re on the road in the dark.

Clark has been knitting the armbands for just over a week and the response has been overwhelming with other great ideas moving forward.

“Teachers who have suggested that they would be a wonderful project for some of their students to do,” Clark said. “Giving them to the police, giving them to the fire department”.

There’s also a website, bemarked.ca ,which contains more information including the pattern itself, for those who knit or want to take it up.

The Evans’ family appreciates the initiative as it continues the grieving process.

“It’s a nice end result,” Stephanie Evans said.

“We’re still all really struggling with what happened and trying to come to terms with why”.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're still all really struggling with what happened and trying to come to terms with why".

The armbands are not for sale. The original plan was to make 100 for family members but with interest from both sides of the border, that number will likely rise so people are being encouraged to knit their own and distribute them in their communities.

In the end it’s something Evans feels her father would approve of.

“I think so,” she said. “He never loved the spotlight but, you know, it’s pretty neat”.