Diane Lyndon fights back tears visiting the small memorial she and her granddaughters started at the location where 14-year-old Seryn Lazzaro was struck in a hit-and-run collision on the evening of Nov. 14th.
Lyndon says Lazzaro was walking on the shoulder of 2nd Dug Hill Road with one of Lyndon’s twin granddaughters, Sierra Maltby, heading to the local Walmart.
“Suddenly a bright light, my granddaughter Sierra turned her gaze away from the light and heard a horrible noise, and her friend was gone,” Lyndon said.
Sierra, 12, called 911.
“She was guided through CPR by the operator until the ambulance got here,” Lyndon said.
Lazzaro was first taken to Trenton Memorial Hospital, then flown to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, where she eventually succumbed to her injuries on Nov. 24.
Lyndon says her other granddaughter, Savannah Maltby, was with Lazzaro until her death.
“The hospital did a hand cast of the two of them holding hands, which Savannah has,” she says.
“It’s beautiful. It was a beautiful gesture.”
But Lyndon is less impressed with Quinte West council’s response to her petition calling for lighting and a sidewalk to run along 2nd Dug Hill Road from County Road 2 to Hillside Meadow Drive.
The area is a location of rapid growth in Quinte West, with a number of subdivisions either built or being built.
Lyndon believes if there had been a sidewalk, Lazzaro would still be alive today.
“This should have been done, and this needs to be done now,” Lyndon says.
“Because 2025 is too late. It’s too late and I don’t want this to happen again.”
Lyndon says 2025 is when infrastructure work like sidewalks is currently slated to be installed on that particular stretch of 2nd Dug Hill Road.
Global News asked Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison for an interview about safety concerns on 2nd Dug Hill Road.
In a series of e-mails, the mayor responded that the hit and run is an ongoing investigation.
“The city lawyer has advised us not to make any comments at this time,” read part of an email from Harrison.
According to the OPP, 51-year-old Dean Potter of Quinte West was arrested in connection with this incident, and charged with failure to stop at an accident resulting in bodily harm.
Lyndon says she will continue to collect signatures for her petition and will appear before council Wednesday morning as the municipality prepares for budget deliberations.
“I’m going to propose that even if it’s a temporary sidewalk, they put it in,” she says.
“That would provide protection until 2025.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up for the Lazzaro family, and two local businesses are also organizing fundraisers for the grieving family on Dec. 8 and 16.