Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 9, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba SUMMER 2024 ISSUE DON’T MISS THE Read online at winnipegfreepress.com/fp-features Available at Manitoba Liquor Marts - while supplies last! P i c k u p y o u r c o p y t o d a y ! FRIDAY AUGUST 9, 2024 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM SECTION B CONNECT WITH WINNIPEG’S NO. 1 NEWS SOURCE ▼ CITY ● BUSINESS Driver can hit, run but can’t hide P OLICE said they are closing in on a suspect in a hit-and-run that killed a pedestrian near The Forks early Thursday as officers canvassed the area for witnesses and additional surveillance footage. Although police havn’t identified the person responsible, investigators have “a good idea on the general type of vehicle that was involved, based on surveillance video and some roadway evidence,” Patrol Sgt. Brian Neumann said. “Ultimately, there will be evidence on that vehicle of this collision, so when we obtain that vehicle, we should be able to gather the evidence necessary to complete our investiga- tion.” Officers responded to Queen Eliza- beth Way (Main Street) and Mayfair Avenue at about 3:30 a.m. A seriously injured man was found and taken to hospital in critical condition but later died. The preliminary investigation indi- cated the man was walking across Queen Elizabeth Way when he fell and was struck by a southbound vehicle as he struggled to get up. The driver took off, police said. Neumann, who co-ordinates colli- sion investigations, said officers re- routed traffic to gather evidence from the scene. Investigators have yet to release in- formation about the vehicle involved in the collision but will provide an update to the public when they are ready, the patrol sergeant said. “What we are having to do is just ex- pand our knowledge of what we have so far, so that when we want to be able to take that action, we have sufficient (evidence) to effect an arrest or bring a person in for an interview,” he said. “I’ve got investigators out who are viewing video and compiling their opinion on what they are finding… Es- pecially in an urban environment, we tend to be able to follow them through- out their movement in the city until we get (the suspect) identified.” Speaking generally, Neumann said suspects identified in hit-and-run in- vestigations can range from motorists with a clean driving record to people with criminal records. In some cases, drivers panic after a collision and flee the scene. Later, they turning themselves in to police. Other times, motorists try to cover their tracks by destroying evidence or getting their vehicles washed, he said. Impairment can be a contributing factor that leads to a collision or in- fluences a person’s decision to flee, he said. He urged anybody involved in a hit- and-run collision to do the right thing and come forward to police. “You may be wrong and you may be (held) accountable but you have to step up and take that. Just like you would expect someone else to do that if it happened to you or someone in your family,” he said. “In the case of something like today’s incident… you’re just com- pounding the problem. It’s not going to get easier.” Investigators ask anybody who was travelling near Mayfair Avenue and Queen Elizabeth Way around the time to reach call investigators, particu- larly if they have video footage, Neu- mann said. Investigators can be reached at 204- 986-7085 or Crime Stoppers anonym- ously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS). Manitoba Public Insurance re- corded 384 reports of hit-and-run collisions that resulted in injuries in Winnipeg since 2022, including 92 in- cidents as of July 31. Nine people were killed in hit-and- runs during the same period, includ- ing three this year. The numbers do not include Thurs- day’s fatality, MPI said. One hit-and-run investigation in which a person was injured remains unsolved from 2023, Neumann said. A cyclist was crossing Notre Dame Avenue and Isabel Street on the even- ing of June 30. The vehicle fled the scene before the police arrived. An empty but heavily damaged grey 2007 Pontiac G6 was later found in the 100 block of Juno Street. It was subsequently learned that four men were observed fleeing the vehicle, po- lice reported. tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca Police using video to zero in on suspect involved in fatal pedestrian collision TYLER SEARLE RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Police are reviewing surveillance footage to identify the vehicle involved in a fatal hit-and-run early Thursday morning on Queen Elizabeth Way. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS A pedestrian attempting to cross Queen Elizabeth Way at Mayfair Avenue was killed after being struck by a vehicle Thursday morning. Proposal request aims to improve road safety City seeks stronger analysis of traffic data JOYANNE PURSAGA A NEW system to collect traffic counts and collision data is on the way to Win- nipeg in an effort to improve road safe- ty. Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, said the addition is great news. “If we have better data and better ability to sift, sort and analyze the data, then it becomes clear to us where we need to make changes and investments to improve the system. At a punch of a few buttons, we can see sooner where the collisions are, we can analyze when they happen,” said Lukes (Waverley West). A request for proposals seeks a com- pany to implement the new system for Winnipeg’s traffic monitoring pro- gram. “The City of Winnipeg has greatly expanded their traffic-monitoring pro- gram in the last five years and needs a solution that will support the acquisi- tion, validation, analysis and dissemin- ation of all its data sources,” the docu- ment notes. It states the city’s current tracking program has “major limitations,” since it lacks a central database and informa- tion is difficult for the public to access. “Short-duration studies are currently managed through a series of discon- nected excel files that result in poor scheduling, duplication of efforts, and data entry error,” the RFP notes. The new system is expected to let the city make better use of Manitoba Pub- lic Insurance collision data that munici- pal officials already receive. “(With this system) if we see a par- ticular intersection is always either getting bogged down or there are col- lisions on a regular basis and then we can analyze it in a more rapid manner, then we can fix it sooner,” said Lukes. A request to speak with a city traffic official was not granted on Thursday. In an email, a city spokeswoman said the system will make better use of vehicle, cyclist and pedestrian counts, which are gathered through radar, intersection video cameras, pneumatic road tubes (tubes laid across the road to gather data) and other devices. “More than 40 permanent count sta- tions have been installed across Winni- peg in the past five years and hundreds of other traffic studies have been col- lected with portable equipment as part of the traffic-monitoring program,” wrote spokeswoman Pam McKenzie. “The (new system) will help the city consume all of the data from these de- vices and present it in an easy-to-digest format that will help… derive more meaningful insights.” Lukes said ensuring all of the data can be quickly assessed to support safe- ty decisions will help the city more ef- ficiently select the changes most likely to reduce collisions. She said she hopes Winnipeggers will eventually see fewer collisions as a result. “If we can have a better technology to capture and monitor and analyze this data, it really helps us make better de- cisions,” she said. The RFP notes council approved a road safety strategic action plan in 2022, which this system would support. “Several of the 67 actions identified in the (plan) relate to the need to im- prove and better integrate safety data into divisional practices,” the document notes. ● DATA, CONTINUED ON B2 ;