Residents on Larose Avenue in Ahunstic-Cartierville are calling for action from the borough after tragedy struck over the weekend.
Leia, a Doberman, was struck and killed by a speeding vehicle Friday evening, right in front of the family’s eyes.
“I heard a car coming down the street at full speed,” owner Carlo D’Anello said.
“For whatever reason, my dog jumped in front of me from the house.”
D’Anello said he saw the driver of a black Mazda 3 drive away after being involved in the hit and run. Other residents Global News spoke to confirmed this.
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The D’Anello family is torn by the incident. A makeshift memorial has been placed near the scene.
“We have had crazy accidents over the last few months and nothing has been taken seriously,” D’Anello said.
According to the family and a number of residents, the tragic incident could’ve been avoided.
Residents have been calling on the borough for permanent safety measures to be implemented on the one-way residential street for years.
“We have been petitioning the city for years to put speed bumps and narrow the streets. It’s a race track,” D’Anello said.
Steven Di Giovanni, who lives on Larose, says he has seen drivers hit speeds of what he thinks could have been between 60 and 100 km/h in what is a 30 km/h zone.
Just this year, his vehicle and four others were a part of a crash after a driver lost control of his vehicle while speeding.
“Reckless behaviour is nothing new on the street,” Di Giovanni said.
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Concern is growing on the street.
With a number of schools in the surrounding area and an adjacent park, residents worry that the high speeds put children at risk.
Residents say they will be starting a petition to pressure the borough into action.
“We need to do this. It is going to be a child who is going to get killed at a certain point if it doesn’t stop,” D’Anello said.
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A police report into the incident has been filed.
Officers have reached out to the D’Anello family, saying patrols in the area will be increased and the street will undergo a safety assessment.
Borough spokesperson Jean-François Desgroseilliers said speed pilons will be placed along the street on either side in the coming days.
Speed bumps will be installed throughout the borough.
“The borough is constantly improving the traffic calming measures it implements, it will be installing an unprecedented number of 80 speed bumps on local streets in the summer of 2021,” Jean-François Desgroseilliers said.
Yet despite the incident on Larose, the borough says the speed bumps won’t be installed along Larose until the spring of 2022.
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