Memorial erected at Albert Street intersection where woman died in collision

A memorial has been set up at the intersection where a 21-year-old woman was struck and killed by an excavator in the city’s south end on Wednesday morning.

The crash site was at a pedestrian crosswalk in the 4500 block of Albert Street, just north of Gordon Road.

Around one of the crosswalk signs, people had left several bouquets of flowers, some balloons and a stuffed animal.

There were photos of the victim with her loved ones. Among them was a composite featuring the young woman with friends; one of the frames was a closeup of their wrists, each of them wearing similar bracelets.

As well, written tributes including one describing the woman as a “beautiful soul,” one that others aspired to emulate.

The woman’s identity has not been made public.

The site of the collision has always been dangerous, say people who work near the intersection.

The collision happened Wednesday at about 7:45 a.m., in an area that has a string of businesses on either side of the road along with multiple lanes of traffic.

There are two pedestrian signs near the intersection, but there aren’t any flashing lights to indicate when a pedestrian is walking across the busy road.

People in the area described the intersection as dangerous for pedestrians, saying the fatal accident is tragic but not surprising.

“I thought it was a deathtrap for years. I hope the city will now do something about putting up a pedestrian crosswalk with a lighted symbol to slow down and notify traffic,” said Matthew Desnoyers, who has crossed the busy intersection for the last five years. “If they put a pedestrian crosswalk there, I think this could have easily been prevented.

“I’m very sad about what happened, but I knew that something was going to happen eventually. It was a ticking time bomb.”

The busy road had construction done in 2019, but there wasn’t any work done to make that specific intersection more pedestrian-friendly.

“There is a lot of danger with the intersection. There are cars not stopping and there isn’t much identification of a pedestrian crosswalk. You could be halfway across the street before you have a vehicle scream by you, and then the next guy will stop, while the next vehicle will fly by,” Desnoyers claimed.

People in the area were shaken up about the incident, saying they hoped something would be done to make the area more safe.

“I think everybody — businesses, vehicles and pedestrians — would benefit from having a pedestrian light at this location. What they have up right now is not enough,” said Leslie Miller, who works at a business near the intersection.

“You have four lanes of traffic (and) just a crosswalk with a pedestrian sign. It’s not going to cut it with how busy this street is. This is a really dangerous location to cross the street.”

On Wednesday afternoon, the Regina Police Service (RPS) issued a statement about the incident.

The RPS said the collision occurred when a city-owned excavator was travelling southbound on Albert Street in the curb lane as the 21-year-old woman was attempting to cross Albert.

Police learned the excavator carried on for some distance after the collision, with the driver possibly being unaware what had happened.

A short time later, police located the city employee who was operating the vehicle.

The police investigation is continuing.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Joseph Ho