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Mother says busy intersection needs safety corridor installed
Family waits for details from latest deadly crash
THE family of a 19-year-old woman who was struck and killed by a vehicle last weekend is waiting anxiously for details about her death.
Brooklynn Zygarliski was walking home alone from a nearby bar at about 3 a.m. Saturday morning when she was hit by an SUV on Lagimodiere Boulevard near Dugald Road.
Her mother, Megan Zygarliski, said she has yet to get information from police on the circumstances of the crash.
“Against our wishes, sometimes she walked home,” Zygarliski said Tuesday. “Her brother was home and would have picked her up, or her dad. We really can’t say what happened yet.”
Police previously said the driver remained at the scene and was co-operative, but did not have any other information about the incident. There was no update provided Tuesday.
Brooklynn had recently undergone surgery on her jaw to remove a non-cancerous tumour and had begun working full time. She often spent time with her friends and was with a group the night of the accident.
“She was just very outgoing, and she did face some challenges with her health in the last couple years, that was tough on her, but she was coming out the other end of it,” her mother said.
The busy intersection is familiar to the mother, who got into a fender-bender there a few months ago.
Zygarliski said the city should consider installing a safety corridor at the intersection to prevent more tragedy.
The death is the second pedestrian fatality in two weeks, and one of six this year. On Oct. 23 a man in his 60s was killed when he was struck by a pickup truck while crossing Main Street at Jarvis Avenue.
A 65-year-old woman who was hit by a truck on Portage Avenue Monday afternoon is in critical condition. The woman was hit between Westwood Drive and Parkdale Street, at about 1:30 p.m. Police say she was struck while crossing eastbound traffic.
A video of the incident obtained by the Free Press shows a woman crossing the street between intersections. The video shows the woman criss-crossing through a string of vehicles when she is hit by a truck driving in the curb lane.
She was rushed to hospital. The driver remained on scene and met with police.
The Winnipeg Police Service traffic division is investigating. Anyone with information, video surveillance or dashcam video of Monday’s collision is asked to call 204-986-7085.
Police data shows six pedestrians have been killed in 13 collisions since January. Nine vehicle occupants died, as well. In 2025, eight pedestrians were killed in fatal collisions.
The statistics show six fatal collisions occurred between September and the end of October alone, resulting in eight deaths.
After a rash of car accidents involving pedestrians, police called a news conference Oct. 19 to warn both drivers and pedestrians that having the right-of-way doesn’t ensure safety. Insp. Helen Peters of the WPS traffic division said at the time extra caution must also be taken as winter driving conditions loom on the horizon.
A researcher said the city isn’t doing enough to educate drivers and pedestrians on road safety.
“Most of my research indicates exactly that most pedestrian traffic accidents happen to be very close to or at intersections that are signalized mainly for vehicles, not necessarily for pedestrians,” said Jairo Viafara, a planning consultant who has written several reports on road safety and intersection collisions.
Viafara’s studies also show many pedestrians are hit while crossing the street mid-block, which seems to suggest there are not enough pedestrian corridors on busy streets.
He questioned the city’s progress on the road safety improvement plan, released in 2022. According to his research, there has yet to be a clear reduction of traffic accidents involving pedestrians.
An update on the plan is expected to be presented to the committee before the end of the year, city spokeswoman Julie Dooley said Tuesday.