They did nothing more than try to cross the road to get to school, but a Winnipeg family is left heartbroken this week after a tragic crash claimed the life of a Winnipeg boy.
Adiam Weldeyohannes was with her son Surafiel Musse Tesfamariam on Tuesday. They were crossing St. Anne’s Road to get to the 8-year-old’s school when he was hit by a truck.
“Because he was driving fast, Surafiel was thrown away from the car and he continued driving and he crashed my kid,” Weldeyohannes said.
Weldeyohannes said in the moment she was panicked, seeing her son lying on the concrete.
“I ran after my kid to see how he is. I even forgot my other two kids, they were with me but I was just thinking about Surafiel and I ran to give him anything but at that time he was killed. He was dead.”
She said she thinks they did everything right — they hit the cross button and waited for cars to stop. But Weldeyohannes said the truck in the far lane must not have seen the lights or her son.
“We started to walk, but when we were crossing the road suddenly there was a car and an old man who was driving the car. He was coming very fast,” she said.
Weldeyohannes said she usually takes a cab to school but she couldn’t get through to the company on the day Tesfamariam was struck. They were running late and instead decided to walk.
She said that’s part of the reason the crosswalk guard wasn’t there.
“I’m very sad,” Weldeyohannes said. “I don’t have a choice. This is what happened so I have to live and help my other kids. But still I will remember my son my whole life.”
Weldeyohannes knows nothing can be done to bring her son back, but she said she hopes changes can be made to the intersection – she wants the lights to be turned red and lowered so they’re more in view for the drivers.
“I hope everyone should drive carefully and slowly,” Weldeyohannes said. “I hope the government or anyone responsible will do something about the place.”
She said this is a bad crosswalk — just three months ago her family was nearly hit at the same place.
Weldeyohannes said she wished something had been done to make drivers more aware and to slow down sooner so what happened to her son won’t happen to other families.
Her son leaves behind his mom, dad, two brothers and sister.
“I miss everything about him,” she said. “He was a very friendly kid. He liked to play with the kids, he liked to play in the snow. He liked to play different games like puzzles and football. He was a very friendly and active kid.”
A family friend has started a GoFundMe page to raise money for Tesfamariam’s funeral expenses. The cutoff to donate is midnight Sunday.