'This can't happen again': Calls for changes to Riverside Drive near fatal crash scene
In the wake of the tragic loss of an eight-year-old girl, some nearby residents along Riverside Drive are questioning the general safety of the roadway.
The girl died after a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians on Tuesday around 6:45 p.m. It happened only seconds after the SUV had passed through the intersection of Wonderland Road and Riverside Drive.
At least nine others, many children and members of a Girl Guides of Canada group, were hurt.
While London police say it will take several weeks to complete their investigation, those who live nearby the crash scene say it’s time to make changes.
“It’s a dangerous corner,” says nearby resident Heather Goddard.
Each weekday Goddard walks down the same sidewalk where the eight-year-old girl lost her life.
In her case, it is to catch a bus, “People don’t look. I try to cross and they’re trying to make the right turn when they don’t look. I almost got hit myself one morning.”
CTV News London archives only turn up minor crashes in the area over the past few years, but those living there say most of them are near misses.
The landlord of the apartment building right next to the crash site, Harold Vanattan, recalls an incident eerily similar to Tuesday’s crash that happened in 2020.
“Last year there was another accident right out front here, where the same scenario coming out the inside lane, hit the curb, hit a tree and spun around.”
On a drive down Riverside east through Wonderland, CTV News London cameras followed the path of the SUV to the point it struck a small tree and then a light standard.
A CTV News London dashcam captures the curve approaches the sidewalk where a fatal crash occurred on Riverside Drive in London, Ont., Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021.
Some residents say this spot needs a redesign -- to a full two lanes with more sidewalk separation -- in the near future.
And, for now, they say a guard rail should be installed.
“I’ve fully aware of things, especially the traffic volume at that intersection,” contends London Councillor Steve Lehman.
Tuesday’s fatal crash occurred in his ward.
He says he’ll be speaking with city staff about possible traffic ‘migration’ in the area.
But first, he wants to study just how many crashes occur leading to the curve and through the intersection with Wonderland.
Just like the crash investigation, those solutions may take time.
Even though, in an instant, so many lives were changed and -- most tragically -- one young life is lost.
“This can’t happen again. That was a horrible tragedy,” concludes Lehman.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.