Motor vehicle charges have been laid against two drivers involved in a fatal pedestrian collision in Burnaby that killed a 15-year-old Brazilian exchange student almost a year ago.
Fernanda Girotto was hit on Jan. 17 while crossing Cariboo Road in a marked crosswalk near the Highway 1 overpass.
Police said she died at the scene.
Charges have now been laid against Paul Oliver Wong, 46, and Kai Man Cheu, 58.
Wong faces two charges, driving without due care and attention and failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, while Cheu has been charged with driving without due care, unsafely passing on the left and crossing a solid double line.
Burnaby RCMP confirmed two vehicles and two separate impacts were involved in the crash but wouldn’t say which driver’s vehicle was responsible for the fatal blow.
Both vehicles were travelling northbound at the time of the collision, according to RCMP.
The crash that killed the Brazilian teen was one of three crashes – two involving pedestrians, one involving a cyclist – over a four-day period at the crosswalk in January.
Neighbours were outraged, saying they had complained to the city about the crossing at the bottom of Cariboo Hill for years.
City staff had assessed the crossing about two months earlier but determined it didn’t get enough foot traffic to warrant a pedestrian-controlled light.
After the fatal accident, however, the city rushed to install safety improvements, including a pedestrian-activated flashing light.
Within less than a week, city council also approved $450,000 for a full traffic signal.
That signal has yet to be installed.
Wong’s and Cheu’s first court appearance was scheduled for Monday.
