As a Calgary family grieves the loss of their beloved 63-year-old matriarch, an MLA who witnessed the tragic crash that claimed the life of the woman is calling for increased safety measures along the busy stretch of a southeast thoroughfare.

Alberta’s Solictor General Jonathon Denis was driving eastbound on Glenmore Trail Saturday morning when he observed a pickup truck flying over the median and smashing into a car in front of him.

The four occupants of the car suffered significant injuries. The 63-year-old woman, who had been seated in the front passenger seat, succumbed to her injuries at the scene of the crash.

The driver of the pickup truck, the lone occupant of the vehicle, was transported to hospital in serious but stable condition.

The location of Saturday’s crash was a short distance from the site of a December incident which took the life of 18-month-old Travis Bertrand. On the afternoon of December 18, a pickup truck driver lost control of their vehicle and was launched over a guard rail in the median and into the path of two oncoming semi trucks. Travis was killed and his four-year-old brother was transported to hospital in critical condition. The four-year-old has recovered from his injuries.

Jonathan Denis says Saturday’s events left him rattled and he believes the section of Glenmore Trail requires additional safety installations.

“I think we need to seriously look at raising the median there to six feet,” said Denis.

Officials believed a buildup of snow was a factor in December’s crash, but on Saturday, when the pickup truck flew over the barrier, the road had been scraped bare.

Ward 9 Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra says the similarities between the two crashes under different road conditions is cause for concern.

Carra was at a community event in Riverbend on Saturday morning which Jonathan Denis was scheduled to attend. Carra says Denis arrived nearly an hour late and visually shaken after witnessing the crash.

The crash prompted a discussion between the councillor and the MLA into the possibility of cable barriers along a section of Glenmore Trail near the Deerfoot Trail interchange.

“We discussed the amount of work the province has done creating barriers on Deerfoot Trail,” said Carra. “Is this a situation where we can have a similar, more modern barrier technology?  We’re absolutely going to look into that.”

Carra adds that Glenmore Trail is under the jurisdiction of the city but the city would happily accept any advice the province could provide given the success of the barrier technology Alberta Transportation installed along Deerfoot Trail.

The police investigation into Saturday’s crash would need to be completed before any changes to the Glenmore Trail median can be made.