Montrealers walk Ukrainian girl's route with message about road safety

On Friday morning, parents, children and other community member walked the same route that Mariia Legenkovska took in a Montreal neighbourhood on Tuesday when she was struck by a vehicle and died.

Legenkovska, 7, was killed in a hit-and-run only two months after coming to Caanda as a Ukrainian refugee.

"The next morning, when we walked to school after we had the news that the girl died, you could just see in the eyes of everybody when they crossed each other on the street. That 'ok, we lost her and it could have been anybody,'" said Anne-Marie Aubert, a mother in the Sainte-Marie area where she was killed. 

Mathieu Murphy-Perron of Velorution Montreal organized the walk and said many community members are not only saddened by the young girl's death but angry that pedestrians seem to get hit more regularly recently.

"I've rarely seen so much indignation," said Murphy-Perron. "After Maria's death, people really seem like they're fed up. It might be the fact that there have been so many pedestrian fatalities in recent weeks, it might be her age, the fact that she's walking to school, something that every child should be able to do without fear of being run over by a motorist who won't even stay on the scene."

The walkers stopped at the memorial for Legenkovska to pay respects while some held signs calling for pedestrian priority on the roads in the neighbourhood.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante met the crowd at the Jean-Baptiste Meilleur School and listened to the concerns of some community members who want more measures in place.

"The message is, what I'm getting is that they want to have safe streets, safe sidewalks for their kids for families, for our elders," said Plante. "Of course, we absolutely agree with that. As a mother, but also as the mayor of this borough (Ville-Marie) and the City of Montreal, it is our responsibility to do everything we can to protect our families and especially our kids."

Plante grew visibly emotional when talking about drivers' behaviour on Montreal streets.

"There has to be a reflection of behaviours for car drivers," she said. "It doesn't matter if you're late to a meeting. It's about making sure that pedestrians and the most vulnerable are safe."

Maria Legenkovska is seen in a family handout photo. A Montreal-area man charged in a hit-and-run where the seven-year-old Ukrainian girl was killed walking to school has been granted bail. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Legenkovska Family

On Tuesday, the young girl was walking to school with her brother and sister when she was hit by a vehicle that fled the scene.

Juan Manuel Becerra Garcia was charged in the hit-and-run on Wednesday.

Plante said the city is continuing to discuss what spaces belong to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers in the city but urged drivers to reflect on how they get around the city.

"There has to be a place for everyone, but people have to take responsibility for their own behaviours," the mayor said.