A three-year-old boy died and his mother and sister were taken to hospital after they were hit by a pickup truck in south Edmonton on Thursday.
Police said officers were called to a collision in the area of Allard Road Southwest and Allard Boulevard Southwest at 5:08 p.m.
Police said officers were told that a pickup truck was headed north on Allard Road when it stopped quickly at the three-way stop at Allard Boulevard.
They said that at the same time, a woman and her two young children were walking east across Allard Road in a marked crosswalk on the south side of the intersection.
“After briefly stopping, the truck reportedly turned left onto Allard Boulevard (heading west), running over the boy and striking the mother and her daughter,” police said in a news release.
Paramedics were called to the scene but the young boy died of his injuries.
Paramedics treated the boy’s 39-year-old mother and his seven-year-old sister at the scene, then took them to hospital for their non-life-threatening injuries.
The 30-year-old man driving the truck remained at the scene and did not report any injuries.
Police said they continue to investigate what happened, but noted that “speed and alcohol are not believed to be factors in this collision.”
The intersection where the collision occurred was closed for some time while police investigated, and there was temporarily no ability for area residents to access the neighbourhood from 41st Avenue Southwest.
Dale McFee, chief of the Edmonton Police Service, was asked about the tragedy while speaking to reporters at an unrelated event on Friday.
“It’s devastating,” he said. “First and foremost, condolences and thoughts and prayers to the family. I just can’t even imagine what they’re going through.
“(I also) just think of the toll — whether it’s the officers, the first responders, the witnesses who responded to that. A lot of them have young kids, too.”
Once the investigation into what happened is complete, McFee said police will try to figure out “what the accountability mechanism is for something like that.”
Nancy Nene, who lives in the neighbourhood, told Global News that it was difficult to hear about what happened.
“It’s so tragic,” she said. “To think it could have been me and my son. It’s very sobering.”
Laura Ferby, who has lived in the area for eight years, told Global News she knows the intersection well and that it can become “super busy,” especially during the rush hour.
While police have yet to complete their investigation into what caused the crash, Ferby said she sometimes has concerns with the intersection.
“They put in the three-way stop,” she said. “I know for myself, it’s always a change trying to get used to a different kind of intersection. But even now, people blow the three-way stop all the time.”
Stephen Raitz is a board member with Paths for People, a non-profit that advocates for safer and more livable streets.
“Our hearts really go out to the family and the friends of this little boy who tragically lost his life simply crossing the street,” he said. “(This incident) really strengthens our resolve in advocating for safer more livable streets and ensuring that when we build streets the first time, we build them safely.”
Raitz said the intersection where this tragedy unfolded “reflects a lot of intersections that are all across suburban neighbourhoods” and that he would like to see the city add traffic signals to the intersection.
He said when new communities are built, some intersections that should have signals do not immediately have them and they are only installed later. He said he would like pedestrian safety to be addressed earlier, and if it cannot be traffic signals right away, then “by having curb extensions, narrowing the travel lanes and that kind of thing to slow down vehicle traffic.”
–With files from Erik Bay, Global News