'Dangerous': Vernon intersection where teen was killed scares many
There are no flowers or a plaque to commemorate the spot where 15-year-old Lynza Henke was hit by a truck last month, just roaring traffic passing through an intersection many see as dangerous.
"It’s a dangerous corner," Kelvin Forgo told iNFOnews.ca.
Forgo owns Record City on Vernon's main street just a couple of businesses away from the intersection where Henke was killed.
Just after midday on July 20, Henke was walking in a marked crosswalk along with others when she hit by a truck turning right off 30 Avenue and onto Highway 97.
The teenager spent a month in ICU before succumbing to her injuries Aug. 16.
"We loved the 15 years we had with Lynza. She has gone to heaven and we will miss her so much," her family, who own the well known Vernon Teach and Learn store, posted to social media.
Standing at the busy intersection where the highway to and from Kelowna crosses Vernon's main downtown shopping street it's easy to see why people say it is dangerous. The sheer amount of traffic passing across a busy pedestrian-heavy street makes a person stand well back from the edge of the sidewalk when waiting to cross.
Forgo said the traffic light allowing highway vehicles to keep moving stays green for a long time. When it finally turns red, traffic on 30 Avenue only has a small window on green which makes people impatient.
"I know two people who have had close incidents in that crosswalk with people turning right," Forgo said.
Coincidentally, one of those people is sitting at the back of Forgo's record store drinking coffee.
"There was a guy looking to his left, and I started to cross, and he hit me in the hip, I slammed my head on his hood," the customer said. "He just looked stunned, he had no idea I was there."
The driver was paying attention to the traffic on the highway, looking for a gap, and clearly was completely unaware pedestrians had a walk sign to cross 30 Avenue.
"I was angry (but) he didn't hurt me," he said.
Standing at the roadside watching the traffic fly by, nearly ever pedestrian iNFOnews.ca spoke to said it was a dangerous intersection.
Kelsey King said she's worked downtown for eight years and has had "multiple" close calls.
"A lot of drivers, they're just impatient," she said.
King said while the 30 Avenue and Highway 97 intersection is bad, so is the intersection at 32 Avenue and 34 Street a few blocks away. She adds a couple more intersections near a Freshco grocery store downtown to the list.
She said pedestrians need to have their wits about them.
"It's unfortunate that we have to, pedestrians (have the) right of way in Canada, but drivers, everyone is impatient," she added.
Rainer Hagemann has owned Hagemann Jewellers for the last 20 years. His store is a stone's throw from where Henke was killed.
"I have close calls," he said. "You've got to be alert."
He reiterates what others have said about the busyness of the crossing in the downtown core.
"I'm on my bike all the time, you've got to have eyes all around," Hagemann said.
With a large Canadian flag flying from the back, Marita Veipans trundles down main street on an electric buggy.
"Several times before I've almost been hit," she said.
On one occasion crossing at a different intersection, a car only missed her by a foot.
"It was scary... it makes me scared," Veipans said.
She said often people don't stop at crosswalks "they just drive through."
As one of the most vulnerable road users Veipans said she approaches intersections with caution. After getting a green walk sign she begins to cross cautiously, ready to slam on her brakes, which she has had to do.
And it’s not hard to see why.
Just as pedestrians are stepping onto the highway to cross in exactly the same manner that Henke would’ve done, a car turning right pulls straight in front of them before continuing down the highway.
One of the businesses on the corner has a very good view of the intersection and staff say they see "a tonne" of close calls.
"There's a lot that goes on in this intersection," one staff member said. "It's not good," adds another.
From the speed of the highway traffic to vehicles trying to turn left, which they aren't allowed to do, they say it’s not safe. Vehicles also have to pull out quite far to see around the corner, and it's very busy.
Even as we talk, a couple crossing the road put their hands out as a driver turning right on a red light edges into the crosswalk as they try to walk across.
Tucked into the corner of a sprawling antique store located at the intersection 30 Avenue Pawn owner Stefan Reinsma sits behind the counter surrounded by guitars, amps and random memorabilia.
He echoes what others have said about the intersection being busy and dangerous.
"There are idiot drivers out there nowadays, young and in a rush to drive and not looking for pedestrians," Reinsma said.
But he said it's not just the intersection crossing the highway - he thinks all the crosswalks along 30 Avenue are dangerous.
"People don't wait for you to be across the crosswalk," a young woman in the store said.
Reinsma thinks there should be yellow caution lights for the crosswalks.
While pedestrians should feel safe crossing the road on marked crosswalks the reality is far different.
According to ICBC, 80 per cent of crashes involving pedestrians happen at intersections. On average more than 2,300 pedestrians are injured in crashes each year in BC.
An average of 53 pedestrians are killed on the province's roads according to statistics looking at the last decade from the BC Coroners Service.
And the number is getting worse, last year there were 70 pedestrian deaths.
In a society that made it law to wear a seatbelt while driving decades ago, it seems peculiar that the number of pedestrians dying on BC roads is actually climbing.
And talking to pedestrians at the busy intersection where the 15-year-old was killed, it appears that most aren't happy, but just accept the danger that crossing the road is.
Lynza Henke's funeral is at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Creekside Conference Centre at 3310 37 Ave. in Vernon. It will also be livestreamed here.
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