'Ghost skateboard' honours young Montreal man killed in hit-and-run

A vigil was held this weekend for Jacob Robitaille, a 21-year-old Montreal skateboarder killed in a hit-and-run earlier this year.

On Feb. 26, 2023, Robitaille was fatally struck while riding his skateboard near the corner of De Lorimier Avenue and Saint-Catherine Street. The driver fled the scene before help arrived.

A group of family, friends, and members of the skateboarding and cycling communities gathered at that same spot Saturday to honour Robitaille's memory.

The young man's skateboard, painted white and wrapped in green vines, was fixed to a post near the crash site, in addition to a plaque. Loved ones laid down flowers and touched the board as they passed the roadside memorial.

It's the first time the group Vélo fantôme, which installs "ghost bikes" at the scene of cyclist deaths, has honoured a skateboarder in this way.

"[The skateboard] honours Jacob Robitaille's memory, it acts as a symbol to stimulate a discussion about the dangers of motorized vehicles towards vulnerable users and constitutes a militant act so actions will be undertaken to avoid more deaths," reads a statement from Vélo fantôme spokesperson Séverine Le Page.

A 'ghost skateboard' honouring Jacob Robitaille, a 21-year-old man killed in a hit and run in February, was installed at the site of the Montreal crash on July 29, 2023. (CTV News/Pedro Querido)

The vigil took place on what would have been Robitaille's 22nd birthday.

The investigation into his death is ongoing.  

Since 2021, there have been at least four deaths of this nature in the area bordered by streets De Maisonneuve, Sainte-Catherine, De Lorimier and Papineau.

In April 2021, a 26-year-old pedestrian was killed by a dump truck; in May 2022, a 34-year-old pedestrian was killed by a tanker truck; in February 2023, Robitaille was killed; and earlier this month, a 43-year-old cyclist was killed, also by a tanker truck.