By Ethan Ready

Call for safer crosswalk

18-year-old experiencing daily seizures since being struck by vehicle

Jun 24, 2020 | 4:32 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – There isn’t much Sean Lode remembers from the night of May 31, 2020.

At the intersection of 1st Avenue and Ospika Boulevard that evening, the 18-year-old was struck by a mid-sized vehicle while attempting to cross the street at the marked pedestrian crossing with his girlfriend.

An orange circle spray-painted on the asphalt 10-feet away from the crosswalk marks where Lode’s head made contact after being hit. His girlfriend said Sean had practically somersaulted through the air.

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“It’s just really surreal waking up in a hospital having no memory of what had happened to me, just not knowing why I’m here,” said Sean of his experience.

Sean still experiences sensitivity to sunlight due to the concussion he sustained, as well as stiffness in his arm.

Being intubated in ICU for a few weeks afterwards, Lode has been back at home for nearly two weeks, his face still visibly bruised and scraped, and experiencing daily seizures which have gradually improved in terms of severity.

The day after the incident, his sister Mavra launched an online petition calling on the City to do something with the crosswalk. The petition has received over 3,600 signatures and numerous comments on how unsafe the intersection is for pedestrians.

“Honestly, it’s something that needs to go through. It’s something that’s really important,” Sean says. “Like this intersection is busier and busier as the years go on. We need a proper crosswalk here. If we would have had one, I wouldn’t have got hit. It’s that simple. They would have stopped at a light I would have crossed and I would have been okay.”

According to the family, there are multiple concerns with the visibility of pedestrians caused by a white fence and vehicles parked along Ospika Boulevard at the Park Village Apartments. The turning lane onto 1st Avenue also causes visibility issues for pedestrians.

Sean’s mom, Stephanie, says they’ve yet to hear anything from the City.

“Still waiting for a reply on what they want to do to rectify the situation. It would be great to have a pedestrian controlled crosswalk here. I don’t know how long it takes. I know it takes money and action, so it’s up to the city to start that plan and hopefully it could be done in the next couple of months.”

But that may not be the case according to the City as 1st and Ospika is a small piece to a much larger project it’s looking into.

“At this time, there are several crosswalks throughout the city that have been identified for potential upgrades, including the crosswalk at 1st Avenue and Ospika,” said Chris Vliegenthart, Transportation Supervisor with the City of Prince George. “Later this year, city administration will be presenting a crosswalk prioritization strategy to the City of Prince George and council will use that to deliberate their budget for 2021.”

The City provided no specific timeline as to if or when a pedestrian controlled crosswalk may be installed at 1st and Ospika but did state that it is in the process of reviewing all crosswalks within the city due to updated national guidelines.