A six-year-old child and an adult male were both struck and killed by CTrains in separate incidents on Monday.
Adam Loria, public education officer with Calgary EMS, confirmed that paramedics were called to the intersection of 162 Avenue and Shawville Way SW just before 8 a.m.
He said a female child was struck by the CTrain at a crossing. She was rushed by ground EMS to the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
At that time she had critical injuries. Loria was unable to provide any update on her condition.
In a release, Calgary police confirmed that the girl died from her injuries.
Later Monday afternoon, police say a man was hit by a train as it was approaching the LRT platform at the Erlton station. Police released few details but said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sgt. Chris Argen with the Calgary Police Service said in the first incident, the girl may have panicked upon hearing the crossing bells.
“It appears she was attempting to walk to school. There’s some gates there, obviously to warn pedestrians that they’re coming to tracks. She did mostly cross the tracks and then the rail arm started to come down and the signal started to go,” said CPS Sgt. Chris Agren.
Agren said the driver of the train sounded the horn in an attempt to have her clear the track and tried to slow the train down.
“Unfortunately, for some reason, she didn’t continue crossing but she doubled back the way she had come and ran in front of the train,” he said.
“It did hit her and pushed her away from the train but the injuries she sustained from it, she succumbed to at the Children’s Hospital.”
Agren said police escorted the ambulance to help it get to the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“She died in hospital. We found (her) mom and dad. They were separate so we had two separate police vehicles escort them up there right away.”
Agren said it’s not clear if the girl was walking directly to school or was on her way to catch a bus. He’s also not sure if it was a regular routine for her to walk along the busy roadway.
Police say a traffic reconstruction team is on the scene, which is normal in accidents involving the CTrain.
At the start of Monday’s regular council meeting, Mayor Naheed Nenshi told council that he had just learned of the girl’s death.
“Our hearts are with her family today,” said the mayor.
Shuttle buses were called in to move passengers between Fish Creek Station and Somerset Station, and traffic on 162 Avenue was stopped due to the incident.
– With files from The Canadian Press
