For the safety of all: Pedestrian accidents in Calgary
By Ashita Karim, February 9 2025—
There is a certain humanistic understanding regarding the right to life. The idea of children having the means to grow up, to reach adulthood and develop their minds and personalities is an integral part of any egalitarian society. In many cultures, including Canada, the protection of children is an evident value showcased through our constitution, charities and advocacy groups. These organizations aim to assist children in their major milestones — their first job, high school graduation, and post-secondary education. These are all major events Amy Tran will never have the chance to experience.
Amy Tran, 17 years old, passed away after she was struck by a vehicle at a Calgarian north east intersection. The accident occurred at a four way stop in a residential area with a nearby playground zone.
Tran’s last hours were spent writing a diploma exam at her high school. Her death occurred on her walk home from school. As recounted by her sister, Thu Tran, Tran was a heavily involved member of her community, described by her sister to have been “good at everything”. She was set to come to the University of Calgary for engineering this fall.
I cannot fathom the immense pain Tran’s family must be experiencing. It is my sincere hope they find support in this time of need.
The incredibly tragic nature of Tran’s death cannot be overstated. The preventability of Tran’s death cannot be undermined. When I heard news of her passing, all I could think was that a child had died, that this young girl would never experience high school graduation or the first day of university. Her whole life was taken from her, all in a sweep of carelessness in conjunction to safety — the very thing all children have the right to.
As someone who lives and frequents the intersections close to Tran’s passing, it is anecdotally evident the amount of speeding, failure to stop at stop signs, and even cutting off pedestrians occurs in the area.
In a short interview clip by CTV News the day of Amy’s passing, reporter Tyson Fedor, having been on scene at the intersection for many hours, reported, “…several vehicles have actually just gone straight through that four way stop,” further supporting the pressing issue of road safety in the area.
A four way stop in a residential area near a playground zone is the place one would least expect a pedestrian fatality. Of all places, this is a place we owe the youth and children of our community to feel safe – on their walk home from school. We must stay vigilant and we cannot let ourselves become apathetic towards an innate threat to the safety of youth in Calgary.
Even last year at our own campus, Fairooz Shafin Munmun, 21, passed away as a result of a fatal pedestrian accident near the university. This is another instance of a young pedestrian death near a residential schooling area — an event that inevitably shook the lives of her peers and mentors. Munmun had many ambitious achievements and aspirations that are expanded upon in UCalgary News.
While neither speeding nor failure to abide by traffic signs were the cause of the accident, the driver’s failure to slow down during the glare of the sun was enough for Crown prosecutor Paul Marcellus to report this as a case of careless driving to Justice Jayme William.
I have deep concern for the safety of our community. As drivers, we must learn from the carelessness exhibited by these fatalities.
It is integral that our acceptance of death does not become synonymous with our complacency towards murder. The inevitable cannot be equalized to the avertible. Apathy does not exist in a vacuum, it exists in a network of interlocking lives and its consequences are far from isolated. When the aforementioned consequences are the lives of young people, I fear for the spread of indifference.
I urge consideration of the devastating consequences the lack of road safety has on our campus and community. The result of apathy is death.
Additional inquiries and resources are offered by the Calgary Police Service in regards to traffic service requests concerning residents.
This article is a part of our Voices section and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Gauntlet editorial board.