Riding to school isn’t an option for a Grade 5 Westmount School student after she was hit in a crosswalk by a truck.
Only two weeks into the school year a student at the new Okotoks school was involved in a hit and run.
Ten-year-old Emma Piercey was riding her bike across a crosswalk below Westmount School on Westland Street on the morning of Sept. 18 when a truck pulled out from Westland Road, striking her back tire. She said the truck did wait for her, but took off too early.
Although the tire was damaged, Emma was able to maintain her balance and get the bike across the street and the truck continued on its way.
She was unharmed, but said she now doesn’t want to ride, or even walk to school.
“My mom’s been driving me,” she said. “I’m just a little worried now.”
Following the incident Emma said she was quite shaken.
“I was shaky and scared,” she said.
When she got to school she reported the incident to her teacher, who told the principal and her mother, Krista Piercey, was called.
Emma was able to stay at school and amazingly didn’t suffer any injuries, although her bike is not fixable.
That night they reported the incident to the RCMP who are investigating.
Krista said she is glad her daughter was not hurt.
“A couple seconds behind that and it could have been way worse,” she said.
The concerned mom said she hopes the driver is caught.
“It’s just upsetting they didn’t stop,” she said, adding she doesn’t believe a driver wouldn’t realize they hit someone or something.
Emma was riding with her 14-year-old brother, but he was quite a distance behind and didn’t see what happened. It is not believed anyone else saw the collision, Krista said.
Emma said the truck was a tan pickup slightly smaller than the family’s Dodge Ram.
Krista said the principal told her she would ask the Town’s bylaw officers to keep an eye out for the truck and the RCMP are also looking for the culprit.
She said she will be driving Emma to school for a while.
“It makes me nervous,” she said of her daughter walking or biking to school. “The last thing you want to do is send your child off and not know if they’ll be safe crossing the road.”
So far her children have had no other problems crossing the road or getting to school.
Krista said the roads around the school are busy in the morning when she drops them off.
“I have seen people in the morning who are certainly not going 30 (kilometers per hour),” she said. “It’s a lot of inattention and people are in a hurry.”
She said the school should have crosswalk patrollers out in the morning and afternoon.
Westmount principal Cynthia Glaicar said training for student patrollers began this week and they are expected to be patrolling crosswalks by mid-October.
The school is working with a traffic consultant, who has made some recommendations and is working with Okotoks bylaw officers to address safety concerns around the school.
Glaicar said teachers are now parking around the perimeter of the parking lot so parents can use the centre area, which loops around, to more easily drop off students.
She said she is upset about the accident.
“I’m really glad she wasn’t hurt,” Glaicar said. “It is sad people wouldn’t slow down going through an intersection with four crosswalks.”
Anyone with information can call the Okotoks RCMP at 403-938-7046.
Stranger danger
High River police are also on the lookout for a black truck with a large scratch on the door. The male driver of a black quad cab truck approached a young girl riding her bike on Sept. 19 and asked her if she wanted a ride. She declined and he asked again saying, “It’s chilly out, are you sure?”
The girl then quickly road her bike to her destination.
The driver is only described as having blond hair with a little brown in it.
Police are asking parents to talk to their children about stranger danger and are asked to report any suspicious activity to police.
Anyone with information about this incident can call the High River RCMP at 403-652-2356 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
