On Saturday, the Morden Police Service received a 911 call for an accident on Thornhill Street at the crosswalk just south of the Morden Park entrance.     

Chief Brad Neduzak explained what happened. 

"The vehicle was traveling westbound on Thornhill Street, approaching the pedestrian corridor at 13th Street. The (crosswalk) lights were activated and continuing to work. The driver of the vehicle traveling westbound indicated there was a couple that had crossed the corridor from the south, walking north, and we're on the curb. As he was coming up to the corridor on the inside lane, he assumed the lights were only for those people who had already crossed."

However, there was also a young boy on a bicycle traveling southbound through the crosswalk corridor, which the driver could not see because there was another vehicle parked beside him in the curb lane. Ultimately, he saw the boy at the last minute and applied his brakes but did come in contact with the young cyclist.

Neduzak reported on the young boy's condition. 

"The boy did receive some injuries and was tended to by Morden Fire and Rescue, as well as paramedics, and was taken to hospital for observation. We don't have an update on the boy's condition at this time. The driver was from out-of-province, and we are continuing the investigation with the possibility of charges to follow."  

He has a strong message for everyone out and about this summer. 

"Obviously, the driver is fully responsible here with the accident. He must ensure to stop for the corridor, for people crossing, but we always remind people, cyclists and pedestrians, to be sure that the driver sees you and to be sure the vehicles are coming to a stop before you proceed through the corridor, obviously just for safety." 

He repeated the message to drivers.  

"As summer ramps up here, the streets will be busier with traffic, with pedestrians, cyclists, scooters, and so forth. So, we really must take an extra minute to be cautious and watch for those pedestrian crosswalks and be sure that we see what is going on and ensure it's safe to drive through them, even if the lights are still activated or stopped, people still use them without activating the lights sometimes, unfortunately. In this particular incident the driver assumed the lights were for the couple that had crossed already and wasn't looking for other pedestrian traffic coming through. So, just take that extra moment, is what we recommend, on both parts, to ensure that it's safe."