Grieving Montreal father visits site of daughter's death every day for weeks to push for answers

Every day, for nearly a month, Cuma Caya has been sitting at a Saint-Michel street corner in a memorial for his late daughter, who was struck and killed by a truck there in June.

"I just want someone responsible for the investigation to come and see me here," he said on Tuesday. A picture of his daughter Dilan is taped to the city pole at the corner of 22nd Ave. and Belaire St., where the accident occurred weeks before.

On June 22, at around 4:30 p.m., police received a 911 call reporting a young woman had been crossing the street when a large truck turned and hit her. At the age of 22, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are still investigating the crash weeks later and have not laid any charges against the driver, a 54-year-old man.

Reached by CTV News on Tuesday, Montreal police did not provide an update on the investigation, which is still ongoing.

Caya is desperate to speak to police, who he says have not reached out to him. He says he's still not sure of just what happened that day.

"Come and explain it to me," he said. "How does it work? How does a woman die in the street?"

CTV asked police whether anyone had spoken to Caya. A spokesperson responded to refuse the request, again citing the ongoing investigation.

However, they did say that it's standard practice to communicate with victims' close family during and after the investigation.

"Montreal police … would like to express its most sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Ms. Dilan Caya," wrote spokesperson Anik de Repentigny.

Caya says his daughter was studying healthcare and was preparing to attend university next year.

LONG-STANDING SAFETY CONCERNS

Residents have, for months, raised safety concerns about the intersection.

"I heard people in the cars screaming because they just saw what happened. I heard police, I saw police coming," said Adrienne Desrosiers. Her four-year-old son attends daycare steps away from the crash site.

"I live close by and have made multiple complaints to the city before that accident happened," she told CTV. "Traffic was too busy for a small street like that."

In the year and a half leading up to the accident, the borough says it received several requests from residents to make the area safer for pedestrians.

Major road work on Pie-IX, just north of where Dilan was struck, has redirected traffic. The borough says it made several adjustments to nearby neighbourhood roads to limit heavy traffic through the area, especially large trucks.

Only local delivery trucks are allowed to turn in from Pie-IX, the speed limit is just 30 km/h, and there are new speed bumps installed to slow traffic; Those are just a few of a long list of safety measures introduced by the borough since construction began.

Even still, Desrosiers says she routinely sees large trucks rumbling through her neighbourhood.

"I see them every day -- at least 20 trucks that are not supposed to be on the streets," she said.

Caya says his vigil should also raise awareness about road safety, and that he'll continue to visit the site each day until he's satisfied with the investigation. His daughter was 22 years old when she died, and he says he's prepared to spend 22 years waiting for answers.