Man charged in Montreal hit-and-run that killed 7-year-old Ukrainian refugee | 24CA News
A forty five-year-old man has been charged with inflicting the hit-and-run loss of life of a younger Ukrainian refugee in central Montreal.
The man, Juan Manuel Becerra Garcia, appeared in court docket on Wednesday the place he was charged with leaving the scene of a deadly accident. He requested for a Spanish translator. He will stay in custody and can seem once more on Thursday.
Garcia is from the borough of Saint-Hubert, in Longueuil, on Montreal’s South Shore.
Prosecutors allege he struck Maria Legenkovska, 7, who was strolling to highschool on Tuesday morning in Montreal’s Ville-Marie borough, after which fled the scene. Legenkovska was a refugee who had fled the battle in Ukraine.
“It’s a nightmare,” stated Michael Shwec, the president of the Quebec chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, an group that’s offering help to her mom and siblings.
“The family came here to find refuge and it’s an absolute nightmare, especially in the holiday period.”
Schwec stated a priest from a neighborhood Ukrainian parish was in contact with the household. Money was already pouring right into a crowdfunding marketing campaign on GoFundMe to assist pay for the woman’s funeral.
Legenkovska’s father remains to be in Ukraine, Schwec stated, the place males have been conscripted to battle invading Russian forces.
“The community is in shock,” he stated. “We are sending all our prayers to the family, to the mother and of course to the father who is still in Ukraine.”
At the positioning of the hit-and-run on Wednesday, close to the intersection of Parthenais and de Rouen streets, law enforcement officials saved an in depth eye on motorists and issued tickets to some who drove by the realm sooner than the posted velocity restrict or failed to completely cease at intersections.
Candles lay close to the place Legenkovska was hit, indicators of a impromptu vigil the night time earlier than, the place locals and a number of the woman’s associates gathered to pay tribute to her.
Neighbours who lived on the nook the place she was struck stated they’d seen automobiles drive rapidly by the realm, which is a college zone.
The incident, they stated, might have been prevented with the correct safety measures.
“We’re angry because we’ve been saying for years that there are traffic problems in the neighbourhood, that it’s dangerous for children to go to school,” stated Philippe Bouchard, who lives proper in entrance of the accident website.
Some who frequent the intersection the place a 7-year-old woman was hit by a automotive Tuesday say it was an accident ready to occur.
After putting the kid, the police say Garcia drove off, leaving her critically injured on the highway. Witnesses stated a number of kids, together with two of the Legenkovska’s siblings, watched helplessly on the scene.
A gaggle of nurses and a health care provider from a close-by clinic carried out first assist on the woman, however police introduced her loss of life early Tuesday night.
Garcia later turned himself in to police and was questioned by investigators earlier than he appeared in court docket to be charged on Wednesday.
Residents say roads busier with bridge site visitors
The nook the place Legenkovska was struck is south of Sherbrooke Street, a connection between the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine tunnel and the Jacques-Cartier Bridge.
Since the tunnel is below building, extra individuals have been driving towards the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, and a few of them are avoiding busy streets by taking facet streets, in response to François Desaulniers, a neighborhood resident who has advocated for safer streets.
“We’ve seen higher traffic with the tunnel La Fontaine work. Even though it’s 10 kilometres away, people want to get to the Jacques-Cartier Bridge so instead of going through the main streets they’re going through our streets,” he stated in an interview on CBC Daybreak.
Sophie Mauzerolle, the member of Montreal’s government committee who’s accountable for mobility and transportation and in addition town councillor for the district during which Legenkovska was hit, stated velocity bumps or curb extensions might be put in within the space.
“We’re going to be doing everything we can to avoid these tragedies that are happening too often on our streets,” she stated.
Premier François Legault urged all drivers to make use of warning, notably close to colleges.
“We have someone who flees a war zone to come here and is hit. It’s so sad,” he stated. “We need to be careful in school zones.”
