Fatal Edmonton parking lot collision resurrects long-standing safety concerns

The death of a pedestrian who was struck while walking through a north Edmonton parking lot, has raised questions about the safety of a busy intersection.

It happened on Saturday afternoon at a shopping complex located near 137 Avenue and 135 Street. The 50-year-old woman was pronounced dead in hospital.

Edmonton police said she was making her way towards a nearby store at the time.

“It would appear that one vehicle had stopped to allow the pedestrian to go by,” Cst. Pierre Lemire said on Saturday. “Unfortunately, the other vehicle failed to negotiate properly and subsequently drove around the first vehicle.”

READ MORE: Charges pending after pedestrian struck and killed in north Edmonton parking lot

Police have identified that driver as a 79-year-old man.

According to the Edmonton Police Service, in 2015, four pedestrians were severely injured in parking lot collisions and one person died. So far in 2016, there has been one fatality and one person who sustained severe injuries.

Elizabeth Cooper has shopped at the complex for years and news of the collision hit her close to home.

“You feel that drop in your stomach because it could be you,” she said. “It could be your family, it could be your friends involved and it’s terrible.”

The shopping complex sees plenty of traffic streaming through the intersection, steps from where the woman was struck on Saturday.

It is home to a five-way stop many residents see as a hazard for both drivers and pedestrians.

“When you get to the stop sign, there’s a blind spot and you can’t see the people who are heading west at that stop sign and vice versa. The people coming in from the west can’t see the people coming in from the north,” Cooper explained.

This year, there have been a total of 14 traffic fatalities in Edmonton, half of which involved pedestrians.

Charges are still pending in the weekend collision. Police have not released the name of the victim.