Pedestrians struck on Franklin
Victims sent 'flying through the air,' according to witnesses
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Two pedestrians, a man and a woman, were rushed to Stanton Territorial Hospital Sunday evening after they were struck by a vehicle while crossing Franklin Avenue at 49 Street.
An unidentified woman helps comfort a victim after a car collided with two pedestrians on Franklin Avenue at 49 Street on Sunday evening. Both pedestrians, a man and a woman, were rushed to Stanton Territorial Hospital with undetermined injuries. - Robin Grant/NNSL photo |
According to witnesses, the victims are a middle-aged couple who were crossing Franklin with the green light at about 7:15 p.m.
"I heard a thud and I looked up and saw two people flying through the air," said a woman who witnessed the accident from in front of the post office. She declined to give her name.
"Then the car kept going, crossed the centre line and smashed into a parking meter in front of the mall," the woman said.
She added the two victims were laying in the middle of the road, obviously badly hurt.
A large number of onlookers gathered near the intersection after the crash as Municipal Enforcement Division officers closed the block to traffic.
In a news release, RCMP stated charges are pending against the driver.
Police also stated they do not believe alcohol was a factor and the investigation is ongoing.
This incident was the second accident involving a pedestrian in the downtown core in less than a week.
Last Wednesday night, just a block away, a driver was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian after a man was struck by a pick-up truck while crossing Franklin with the light at 50 Street. He too was rushed to hospital but police have not released any information on his condition.
Police have not released the names of either of the two pedestrians involved in Sunday's accident.
