Shortly after leaving for her lunch break at a Kelowna, B.C., daycare on Sept. 12, 2024, Danica Guinto was struck by a pickup truck at the intersection at Burtch Road and Highway 97.
“The other staff, her name is Amreet, she looked out the window, which we can see the intersection clearly, and said ‘I think that’s Danica on the ground,'” said Karli Sanderson, Danica’s colleague at Childhood Connections.
Guinto remains in the ICU and is facing a long road to recovery.
Sanderson says prior to the incident she and her colleagues had major concerns about the intersection at Highway 97 and Burtch Road.
She says the intersection needs more safety features like advanced left turn signals or more time for pedestrians to cross the road.
“At the daycare we probably hear at minimum a dozen honks per day from cars turning and merging. There’s the parking lot to go into Bulk Barn and people slam on their brakes, they don’t merge properly. People don’t really follow the rules of the road,” said Sanderson.
In a statement to Global News, the Ministry of Transportation said “local ministry staff will review and take into account any findings or recommendations arising from the RCMP’s investigation of this incident.”
Sanderson started a GoFundMe campaign for Guinto that has already blown past its goal, with donations coming from the community and daycare families.
“Danica has got to meet close to 300 (families) in her time working for us and she’s had such an impact on those lives,” said Sanderson.