Man charged in Montreal hit-and-run that killed 7-year-old Ukrainian refugee
Girl died after being struck Tuesday morning in Ville-Marie borough
A 45-year-old man has been charged with causing the hit-and-run death of a young Ukrainian refugee in central Montreal.
The man, Juan Manuel Becerra Garcia, appeared in court on Wednesday where he was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident. He asked for a Spanish translator. He will remain in custody and will appear again on Thursday.
Garcia is from the borough of Saint-Hubert, in Longueuil, on Montreal's South Shore.
Prosecutors allege he struck Mariia Lehenkovska, 7, who was walking to school on Tuesday morning in Montreal's Ville-Marie borough, and then fled the scene. Lehenkovska was a refugee who had fled the war in Ukraine.
"It's a nightmare," said Michael Shwec, the president of the Quebec chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, an organization that is providing support to her mother and siblings.
"The family came here to find refuge and it's an absolute nightmare, especially in the holiday period."
Schwec said a priest from a local Ukrainian parish was in touch with the family. Money was already pouring into a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to help pay for the girl's funeral.
Lehenkovska's father is still in Ukraine, Schwec said, where men have been conscripted to fight invading Russian forces.
"The community is in shock," he said. "We are sending all our prayers to the family, to the mother and of course to the father who is still in Ukraine."
On Thursday, the office of Montreal's ombudsman announced on Twitter that it would investigate the circumstances surrounding the girl's death. The investigation will likely lead to the ombudsman submitting road safety recommendations to the city.
At the site of the hit-and-run on Wednesday, near the intersection of Parthenais and de Rouen streets, police officers kept a close eye on motorists and issued tickets to some who drove through the area faster than the posted speed limit or failed to fully stop at intersections.
Candles lay near where Lehenkovska was hit, signs of an impromptu vigil the night before, where locals and some of the girl's friends gathered to pay tribute to her.
Neighbours who lived at the corner where she was struck said they had seen cars drive quickly through the area, which is a school zone.
The incident, they said, could have been avoided with the proper security 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," said Philippe Bouchard, who lives right in front of the accident site.
After striking the child, the police say Garcia drove off, leaving her seriously injured on the road. Witnesses said several children, including two of the Lehenkovska's siblings, watched helplessly at the scene.
A group of nurses and a doctor from a nearby clinic performed first aid on the girl, but police announced her death early Tuesday evening.
Garcia later turned himself in to police and was questioned by investigators before he appeared in court to be charged on Wednesday.
Residents say roads busier with bridge traffic
The corner where Lehenkovska 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 under construction, more people have been driving toward the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, and some of them are avoiding busy streets by taking side streets, according to François Desaulniers, a local 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 said in an interview on CBC Daybreak.
Sophie Mauzerolle, the member of Montreal's executive committee who is in charge of mobility and transportation and also the city councillor for the district in which Lehenkovska was hit, said speed bumps or curb extensions could be installed in the area.
"We're going to be doing everything we can to avoid these tragedies that are happening too often on our streets," she said.
Premier François Legault urged all drivers to use caution, particularly near schools.
"We have someone who flees a war zone to come here and is hit. It's so sad," he said. "We need to be careful in school zones."
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With files from Radio-Canada