Police continue to investigate a fatal morning collision in a southeast neighbourhood that claimed the life of a 16-year-old boy.
The teenager was struck by an eastbound 2006 Mitsubishi Endeavor while crossing the intersection of Erin Woods Boulevard and Erin Woods Place S.E. at approximately 8:30 a.m.
"At some point, he was struck and carried a distance by the vehicle and he succumbed to his injuries at the scene," said Mike Ter Kuile, with the CPS Traffic Unit.
Friends have identified the deceased as Nick Paswisty.
Ter Kuile says a number of factors may have contributed to the incident.
The challenge right now is ascertaining his actual position in relation to the crosswalk, whether the sun angle had any impact on the collision, whether it had any impact on the vision of the driver, and determining whether the individual was running or walking."
As of Friday afternoon, alcohol and speed are not believed to have factored.
Stuart Brideaux, with Calgary EMS, says it appeared the victim was in a crosswalk at the time of the crash, but those details have yet to be confirmed by police. However, he says that the victim was quite a distance from the crosswalk when EMS found him.
"Upon arrival, EMS determined a male had died at the scene as a result of this collision. The vehicle did remain at the scene but there were no other reported that any other vehicle had been involved."
Brideaux says the injuries to the victim were quite significant. "Multiple traumatic injuries of a serious nature. The very early assessments are that the man had died at the scene."
Jeannie Seaman said she saw the teen before he died and said a woman was at his side as well. "I asked her if there was anything I could do and she was holding his head. She turned it and that's when he stopped gasping for air. I was watching his stomach."
Her husband Fred said that they could tell it was a bad situation as they came closer: "We could see the trail of blood. I just knew it was bad, right? There was a bunch of people around him. I saw my neighbour and he said he was hit in the crosswalk."
Residents say that they're certain that reckless drivers on Erin Woods Boulevard S.E. are to blame.
Fred Seaman says he isn't surprised by the situation. "I'm fearful for my two girls. They took off on to the store by themselves one time and it just increases the level of fear because of how people drive."
Dean Roach, who says he's lived in the area from almost ten years, told CTV that he sees drivers speeding on the road every day. "I've been living here for years, now somebody's dead. It's going to take someone to die for something to happen? I've got kids. I've seen kids get mowed down in this crosswalk. This is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous."
Roach says he's tried to get through to police before about the issue and claims they haven't responded properly. "I make a report on their website. Do they ever have a police presence on this road? Never! And now somebody's died!"
He says there have always been problems with speeding drivers at the crosswalk where the teen died. "There's been three over the past five years that I know of. These people just race up and down here like it's a freeway."
Police, however, say that speeds were not a factor in this crash. "There was a witness who spoke to police and from that information, we have estimated the driver to be traveling at 40 km/h," Ter Kuile said.
"That's why you need to take extra caution in any direction when you're driving in the sun. Whether use of sunglasses, a sun visor, slowing down, even stopping in some cases, you have to take that extra precaution."
As for enforcement, Ter Kuile says they are doing what they can and can't possibly be everywhere at once. "We're looking to the public to be the responsible drivers when it comes to the speed component. As we said in this collision, it doesn't appear to be a factor."
Police are still looking for more witnesses to the crash and ask anyone who may have seen something that could help the investigation to come forward.
Paswisty is the seventh pedestrian to die on Calgary streets in 2015.
