Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 25, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 FUNDRAISE WITH EARN UP TO 50% PROFIT FOR YOUR SCHOOL, TEAM OR GROUP! FOR INFO www. showandsave. ca ( 204) 477- 4216 WINNIPEG police are investigating the city's first homicide of 2015. Police arrived at the scene in the area of Isabel Street and Pacific Avenue about 11: 20 p. m. Friday. A 22- year- old man was transported to hospital in critical condition, where he later died. The area where he was found was cordoned off with police tape through the night. Police have yet to release the victim's name, but relatives have identified him as Dustin McKay, a former student at Gordon Bell High School. Police were providing few details Saturday, but people who live in the area say there was a commotion there before emergency crews arrived. " My sister went out for a smoke, and she heard a lot of yelling on the corner," said a man who lives nearby. The man walked to the convenience store at the Husky gas station on the northwest corner and was told by other bystanders a man had been hit by a vehicle. A story going around at the scene was the victim may have been pushed or dragged into oncoming traffic. Police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said a vehicle was involved in the incident in some way and the victim was in the roadway at some point. Investigators are trying to determine whether the victim was struck by a vehicle. Autopsy results are pending, and it's not clear if the victim died as a result of being struck by a vehicle. It's also not known whether the people in the vehicle involved knew McKay, or whether they remained at the scene afterward. Michalyshen said police had some individuals in custody Saturday. But these, he said, could be witnesses. While it's unclear if McKay was killed or even struck by a vehicle, this winter has been a tough one for pedestrians. In December alone, 10 Manitoba pedestrians were struck by vehicles, resulting in two deaths. There has also been a proliferation of hit- and- runs. That includes 21- year- old Cody Joss, who was killed while crossing Inkster Boulevard at McGregor Street on Dec. 19. The driver of a darkcoloured pickup truck who fled the scene has not been found. On Dec. 18, two pedestrians were struck near McPhillips Street and Jarvis Avenue, and a 70- year- old woman died of her injuries on Christmas Eve. A 60- year- old man was treated for nonlife- threatening injuries. A 29- year- old man was sent to hospital in critical condition after being struck by a Ford Fusion on Sherbrook Street on Dec. 28. Two pedestrians were hit in separate mishaps on Dec. 12, one involving a bus near the corner of Portage Avenue and Carlton Street. In the other incident, a woman pushing her two children in a stroller near Osborne Street and Brandon Avenue was hit. The children were not injured. bill. redekop@ freepress. mb. ca TOP NEWS CITY EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204- 697- 7292 I CITY. DESK@ FREEPRESS. MB. CA I WINNIPEGFREEPRESS. COM SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2015 A 3 D ON'T take away every last vestige of outdoor winter fun - in this case tobogganing - that can still get kids active and out of the house, say parents. So don't ban tobogganing on civic properties, such as the various garbage hills around the city the way Hamilton has. The Free Press asked people to respond to an emerging trend banning tobogganing on civic property in some cities. In Hamilton, it's against the law to go tobogganing in any city park. The fine is $ 105 but can be as high as $ 5,000. In Calgary, there are now 18 government- approved sites you can slide down. But if you ride on a crazy carpet on city land not on that list, it will cost you $ 100. Civic governments are restricting tobogganing due to fear of liability from injuries. There are a lot more injuries from tobogganing than you might expect, including brain injuries. There are even fatalities. Seven people in Canada died from tobogganing between 2003 and 2007. Eight years ago, a boy from Gilbert Plains suffered a head injury and died. Winnipeg is not preparing any prohibition at this time, but bans are gaining momentum in both Canada and the United States. Yvette Stevenson, watching her son, Pierre, nine, slide down Garbage Hill, a. k. a. Westview Park, said kids need something to get them away from computers, and tobogganing is one activity that still does the trick. " My son is having a sleepover tonight, and I asked him what they're going to do. He said they'll stay downstairs and play Wii," she said Saturday. That's the norm these days. " When I was a kid, we had to go outside for our fun." Statistics show people are becoming increasingly sedentary and less social because they spend so much time on the Internet. As well, parents have become more protective of their kids. " People don't let their kids go out and play," Stevenson said. " I think it's stupid," said father Jeff Lim, on the idea of banning tobogganing on civic properties. Lim was watching his sons, Kai, nine, and Jet, seven, slide down the Westview Park hill. " The thing is, we want to get kids outside." Lim would rather government enforce use of helmets. Neither his children nor anyone else's were wearing helmets on the hill at the time. Ben Winters feels the same way. He maintained his two- year- old son, Jaxon, will be wearing a helmet when he's old enough to slide down hills on his own. " I just think it is kind of ridiculous. There's a danger in almost anything you do," he said. But helmet use could spread the way it has where many kids wear helmets while skating and are required to by law while riding bikes. " It is a Canadian tradition," Winters said of tobogganing. " Play safe and have fun." bill. redekop@ freepress. mb. ca By Bill Redekop Man, 22, city's first homicide victim of 2015 Tobogganing- ban idea ripped Cities enacting rules on their land By Bill Redekop FACEBOOK Relatives say the slaying victim is Dustin McKay, 22. ABOVE: Kai Lim ( left) and his brother, Jet, make their way down Garbage Hill Saturday. RIGHT: Jaxon Winters closes his eyes as he slides down a hill with his father, Ben Winters, on Wellington Crescent. PHOTOS BY RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A_ 03_ Jan- 25- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A3 1/ 24/ 15 9: 05: 42 PM ;