WATCH: A young girl is fighting for her life in hospital after being struck by an SUV in a marked crosswalk in Saanich. The Grade 6 student was on her way to school this morning when she was hit. April Lawrence has more.
A girl was taken to Victoria General Hospital in serious condition after being hit by a vehicle at a crosswalk in Saanich Wednesday morning.
Saanich police say the Arbutus Middle School student was crossing Ash Road at Torquay Drive when an eastbound SUV travelling on Ash Road struck her at 8:16 a.m.
Authorities say she was thrown and are now investigating to see if she was hit by a second vehicle heading west on Ash Road that had already stopped.
“We believe the child was struck by one vehicle and thrown some distance and landed,” Sgt Alan Gurzinski, a Saanich police crash analyst, said.
Authorities say the girl had just left her grandparents home, located right beside the crosswalk. Crash analysts said it appears the girl was in the crosswalk when she was struck and they are measuring to try and determine how fast the SUV was going. Officers are also interviewing the drivers of both vehicles.
“At normal traffic speeds on a road like this at 50 kilometres an hour, you’ve got a 50/50 chance of surviving,” Gurzinski said.
Police are not confirming her age at this time but her grandparents have confirmed the girl’s name is Leila. Paramedics treated the Grade 6 student at the scene before rushing her to hospital in serious condition.
Leila’s grandfather, Andy Bui, said he is devastated.
“I hope she is alive,” Andy said while choking up.
He also said Leila was on her way to school.
“She [was in a] hurry, she ran, she [did] not see the car coming very fast,” Andy said.
Ash Road from Majestic to Tyndall remains closed while traffic analysts investigate. Children’s mittens sat in the middle road of Ash Road and the intersection was surrounded by police tape for most of the day Wednesday.
A critical response team is providing support at Arbutus Middle School and an elementary school where Leila Bui was a student last year.
Saanich Police are investigating after a girl that attends Arbutus Middle School was struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk on Ash Road Wednesday morning.
Andy Neal
