‘It’s just terrible’: Mother and son struck while walking on Ottawa Street North remain in hospital

It was supposed to be a leisurely walk around the corner from home, a harmless activity spent as a family on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Then a car came out of nowhere and sent them flying.

It's something you never think would happen," said Eric Reid, whose 29-year-old cousin's wife and stepchild were critically injured in a collision on Ottawa Street North last weekend.

They always like doing stuff together as a family, but with the economy the way it is now, they try and keep it to local stuff that's close to home. So they went for a walk; they live right there near the Walmart."

All three family members were hurt when Hamilton police say an out of control" car went airborne after crossing the railway tracks at Ottawa between Beach Road and Dalhousie Avenue, near the Centre on Barton, around 4 p.m. on July 10.

The driver of the car, a black 2008 Chevy Equinox, failed to remain at the scene and fled on foot, police said. Investigators have yet to rule out speed and impairment as factors in the hit-and-run.

As of Tuesday, two of the victims - a 30-year-old woman and her 10-year-old son - remained in hospital with serious injuries, Reid told The Spectator in a phone interview. Reid said the child's condition has improved, while the woman is in an induced coma after undergoing multiple surgeries.

He's out of the woods and it looks like he's going to make it," Reid added of the boy, Maddox. Nicole (the mother) is still in really rough shape."

Reid's cousin, Sean, escaped the horrific crash with minor injuries, but the emotional fallout from it has left him scarred, Reid said.

Sean could be seen by neighbours at scene of the collision on his knees, screaming in the distance for help as his wife and stepchild lay motionless on a plot of knee-high grass that borders the sidewalk where they were struck.

He was just kneeling and in absolute shock, screaming and crying out for help," recalled Angel Card, a resident in the area who witnessed the crash.

That's the hardest thing for him, having been there when it happened, holding his girl - his baby - as she was mangled," said Reid. He's a really talkative, loving, big and kind-hearted guy, and now he's just so quiet. It's been really difficult and I feel for him."

Reid said Sean and Nicole don't drive and often go out for walks in the area with Maddox to pass the time and keep busy.

It's just terrible what happened, going out for a walk only to be hit by a car. You never expect it to happen, and if it does, you just hope it's not your family."

Like many others in Canada, the family has felt the effects of the dwindling global economy, prompting Reid to set up a GoFundMe to soften their financial burden. He said the funds are intended to help them pay for bills like rent and food.

I want to help them in any way I can," he said.

The weekend hit-and-run is just the latest in a string of serious or fatal pedestrian collisions in Hamilton.

The Spectator has reported on nearly two-dozen of them already this year in which 11 people have died - the highest-tally in a decade.

It's an alarming trend that's spurred widespread community outrage from residents and advocates to city officials and mayoral hopefuls.

Coun. Nrinder Nann said Tuesday she has asked city staff to conduct a technical review of the roadway where the family was hit over the weekend, along with compiling immediate to long-term solutions.

A Spec analysis of the Hamilton fire department's automated incident feed shows emergency crews have been called to five collisions on Ottawa between the rail crossing and Barton Street East since mid-April.

Nann called the roughly 400-metre strip a fast throughway" that favours excessive speeding. There's no traffic lights on the four-lane, two-way road, and no signage before the tracks to warn drivers that it sits on an incline. Moreover, the sidewalk where the family was struck is barely visible from across the street, shrouded in tall strands of grass and weeds.

It is clear to me that we need to end it being used as a fast throughway and enhance the pedestrian realm for safety, including steps like ensuring those shrubs are trimmed, consider a signalized crosswalk, and get some more regular speed enforcement in the area," the Ward 3 councillor said over email, noting her office heard from a constituent just last week about speeding in the area.

Nann added of the victims: It is absolutely devastating and I hope they can recover and heal from their injuries."

Three weeks ago, Reid picked up Sean, Nicole and Maddox at their east-end residence for a trip to his family's cottage in Bracebridge, something they try to make happen every summer. He passed the site of the crash on the drive over.

And it was deserted," Reid said. People think they can go as fast as they want there because there's nothing stopping them. It's a shame."

Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com