Two more pedestrian collisions this weekend bring Hamilton’s tally to 20 this year
A teenage boy and an elderly man were seriously injured in a pair of central Hamilton collisions over the weekend.
Hamilton police said the first happened Friday night around 8:30 p.m. on Wentworth Street North, right in front of Cathy Weaver Secondary School.
A 16-year-old boy was seriously hurt when he was struck by a pickup truck. He was taken to hospital in stable condition.
Acting Staff Sgt. Robert Lejeune said the driver of the pickup remained at the scene and co-operated with police. Speed and impairment have been ruled out as contributing factors, he said, and no charges were laid.
The circumstances of the crash remain unclear.
Two hours later, around 10:45 p.m., police were called to another collision with a pedestrian in the area of Sherman Avenue South and Main Street East.
A man in his late 60s was taken to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries, said Dave Thompson of the Hamilton Paramedic Service.
Acting Staff Sgt. Peter Ranieri said the man was struck by a dark-coloured sedan whose driver failed to remain at the scene. Police continue to probe the hit-and-run, he said.
The weekend incidents mark just the latest in a spate of serious or fatal pedestrian collisions in Hamilton.
The Spectator has reported on at least 20 pedestrians - including four teens - who've been hurt or killed in car crashes this year.
More than half have come in the last two-and-a-half months alone.
But of most concern is the mounting rate of pedestrian fatalities.
Ten people have been killed on city streets in 2022 - a figure set in just five months that already eclipses the decade-high toll of nine in 2021.
Hussein Hassoun died Jan. 17 while checking for damage to his car stuck in the snow Red Hill Valley Parkway; Robert Stevenson died Jan. 30 while walking his dog and crossing Lawrence Road; three pedestrians died March 19 while simply standing outside Pizza Pizza at the Delta; Sherri D'Amour, a DARTS bus driver, died May 5 while picking up a passenger on Main and Locke streets
It's an alarming trend that's spurred widespread community outrage, from residents and advocates to city officials and mayoral hopefuls.
Just a week after D'Amour's death, dozens of protesters blocked the street in front of city hall in a rally for safer streets.
People shouldn't be afraid to go outside. People shouldn't be afraid to walk outside to work. People just want to get home and back to their families," organizer Chris Ritsma told a crowd of about 100 people on May 11.
The protest came as council backed the two-way conversion of Main Street in a motion that will also see city staff examine further measures that protect vulnerable road users. An implementation plan is expected early next year.
Twelve of the 20 pedestrian collisions this year occurred in the lower-city, according to a Spec analysis. City reports show the lower-city hosts two of the five worst intersections for crashes that kill or injure pedestrians.
Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com