Carina Denisenko was on her way to work at a local restaurant after school when she was killed by a truck in a Winkler crosswalk, her father told Global News Friday.
“She was a very very good girl,” a grief-stricken Viktor Denisenko said, adding his 16-year-old daughter loved to spend time outside running with her dogs.
The Northlands Parkway Collegiate Grade 11 student died Thursday after she was hit by a vehicle while crossing at the Highway 428 crosswalk, a letter from principal Tammy MacDonald says.
“The death of any person we know is hard to accept and in the case of a young person like Carina, it is a tragic loss,” McDonald wrote in the letter posted on the school’s website.
Winkler police Chief Rick Hiebert said officers were called to the school at the intersection of Highway 14 and Highway 428 at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday. STARS Air Ambulance was also called to the scene. Hiebert says officers recently stepped up enforcement on the stretch of road that killed Denisenko. He confirmed Carina Denisenko was in the crosswalk, headed west away from the school, when she was hit.
“We’ve issued a number of citations,” said Rick Heibert, who said the tragedy has affected the entire community.
The speed limit was changed from 90 km/h to 50 km/h when school started this year. Winkler’s mayor says for the last two years he’s been trying to get the province to install a lighted crosswalk in front of the school, but was told just recently the city would have to foot the $12,500 bill.
“It’s very obvious the crosswalk needs to be lit and we have a tough situation to deal with,” said Martin Harder, Winker’s mayor. “It’s unfortunate that it takes a tragedy in order to bring it to a head.”
A family friend tells Global News Denisenko was one of six children. The family moved to Winkler around three years ago from Germany.
“She was such a nice person,” said Kornenlius Unrah. “It’s just hard for us to understand what happened.”
Several students saw the tragic scene as they were leaving school.
“As my bus was driving home I just saw a girl lying there and teachers bending over her and stuff,” said Kim Friesen, a student at Northlands Parkway Collegiate. “I didn’t know who it was.”
Students were informed of Denisenko’s death on Friday morning and a crisis support team, with counsellors, social workers and psychologists, is being made available to staff and students at the school. Local youth pastors are also providing support.
The school is open and for most students, the school will follow the regular timetable, the letter says.
Northlands Parkway Collegiate opened its doors to students for the first time in September.
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