Driver Speeds Through Memorial Crowd

0:00A driver spits straight through a memorial crowd on Hillbank Road for 12-year-old Xavier Rasool Yonkovitz, who died last August after getting hit while rollerblading. This happened March 20th during his would-be 13th birthday gathering around 8.11 pm. People dove into roadside ditches, parents shielded their kids, and screams filled the air as the car roared by. Police from Shanagan Lake, RCMP, had been there at the family's request due to past harassment, but they got called away right before. The family believed someone waited intentionally, then accelerated into the group. The driver vanished before cops returned, despite tons of 9-1-1 calls. Witnesses are still shaken, describing misses by a thumbs-width and frantic searches for kids in the dark. One mom now fears letting her 12-year-old out alone. Rumors linked the driver to Xavier's killer, fueling local outrage. Now it's reigniting pushes for safety fixes like closing popular road, a gravel shortcut speeders used to dodge highway patrols.

1:02Local directors unanimously backed the family and Xavier's law for 30-day roadside driving bands on reckless folks, past second reading, 78-7. RCMPs on the case for the driver, while province and region argue over road control. They've added a 50 km per hour sign, planned more like no-through warnings and lines, communities locked in, demanding real change to stop these close calls turning deadly. From your city, powered by AI, this is Canada News Today. I'm Corey with The Story.