A judge says extreme driving stunts such as the one that led to the death of an Edmonton university student should be banned.
The recommendation is in a public fatality report into the May 2013 death of Melinda Green.
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Green was watching a charity fundraising event in a strip mall parking lot in which a Jeep drove on top of the front wheel of another Jeep.
For some reason the Jeep lurched forward into the crowd, injuring the 20-year-old, who later died.
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In the report, Judge Jody Moher recommends that Alberta Highway Traffic Safety Act rules should cover public and private parking lots.
Moher also recommends that extreme driving events should not be allowed in public unless there are barriers between the vehicles and the crowd, and safety marshals are on hand.
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Melinda’s mother Mira Green believes the recommendations, if implemented by the province, will save lives.
“It was what we were looking for because the focus of the recommendations is on public safety and that’s what we wanted,” she said.
“It doesn’t change anything for us. Our days are the way they are. The irony I guess, is even if this makes a difference, we’re not ever going to know, but at least we know we did everything we could… She provided reasons and suggestions that will benefit everybody.”
Mira said if some of the safety precautions – like barriers – were already in place, her daughter might not have died.
Mira said it would be foolish for the province not to act on the report’s recommendations.
“It’s on record now. It’s there that a judge has looked over evidence in this kind of a case and said there is a gap.”
“The fatality inquiry report is a very serious matter and we are giving careful consideration to the judge’s recommendations,” Transportation Minister Brian Mason said in a statement.
Watch below: Ongoing Global News coverage of the Jeep event and the fatality inquiry into Green’s death
With files from The Canadian Press
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