Parents in the Sanford Avenue School area say some of their worst fears were realized yesterday morning when an 11-year-old girl was hit and trapped under the front of a minivan as she raced across the street in front of the school.
The child was pinned under the front of the van just before 9 a.m. as she crossed from the east side of Sanford Avenue heading toward the school. She was walking with her older sister.
She was freed by firefighters who quickly raised the front of the van using portable airbags. She suffered only minor injuries but was taken to Hamilton General Hospital.
Police Sergeant Terri-Lynn Collings said the girl was hit in a “low impact” collision, which is still under investigation.
Melissa Webster, whose five- and seven-year-old children attend Sanford school, said the girl was crossing the street with her older sister when she was struck by a van turning out of the Pinky Lewis Recreation Centre parking lot.
Webster, who will not allow her seven year old to walk to school by himself “even though he thinks he’s old enough,” said morning traffic on Sanford worries parents.
“In the morning, they get going pretty good between Cannon and Barton,” she said, “and the school’s smack in the middle of the stretch.”
“I live nearby,” she said, “and when you hear the fire and ambulance and police sirens stop close, you know it’s a child.”
Albert Wetherald, of Stirton Street, said in an e-mail he has been asking for a crossing guard at the intersection of Huron Street and Sanford since late 2007. He said he was told a review of crossings in the area done in 2006 recommended Cannon Street East and Barton Street East as the best locations for crossings.
Neighbours say traffic in the school zone is very busy, and that many morning commuters use the Pinky Lewis parking lot as a shortcut between Wentworth Street North and Sanford Avenue.
buy cheap buspar anti-anxiety no prescription drugs
FedEx overnight shipping no prescription drugs online pharmacy