By Nigel Maxwell

Community safety

Young boy struck by vehicle

Feb 11, 2019 | 3:35 PM

A close call Saturday morning in a quiet east side Prince Albert neighbourhood, may serve as a good reminder for drivers across the city to slow down.

Around 10:40 a.m., a four-year-old boy was struck by a vehicle in the 1500 block of McIntosh Drive. According to police, the boy ran into the street between two parked cars. Lyle Karasiuk, a spokesperson for Parkland Ambulance, told paNOW they see far too many pedestrian collisions this time of year.

“Give yourself that extra time,” he said. “If you normally take five minutes to get to work in the summer time, it might take 10 or 15 minutes to get to work in the winter.”

Karasiuk encouraged parents speak to their children about how to safely cross the street, but added the onus is also on the driver to use extra caution, especially in the residential areas and school zones.

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“Just simply slow down and you need to watch for when pedestrians are crossing. A pedestrian has the right of way at an intersection,” he said.

A four-year-old child, wandering out between two parked cars, may appear almost invisible for an oncoming driver. (Nigel Maxwell/pNOW Staff)

Howard Darbyshire is a driving instructor with Darby’s Driving School in Prince Albert and said too often he sees accidents in the winter, resulting from drivers not allowing themselves enough time to stop.

“If people would just lengthen that distance between the vehicle in front and their following distance should also be lengthened,” he said.

Darbyshire explained a driver should brake as soon as the vehicle in front of him does. He added following distance should be at least four seconds in the winter time.

“Because it is slippery and you need time and distance to stop,” he said.

The youth involved in Saturday’s accident was taken to hospital but later released. A police spokesperson said no charges are pending against the driver “as this was an unfortunate accident.”

Photo: (file photo/paNOW Staff)

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell