Following the tragic death of a 16-year old earlier this week, the District of Saanich released a statement today doubling down on its commitment to continue to improve road safety in the municipality.
At approximately 9:45 p.m. on December 6th, Kaydence Bourque was rushed to the Victoria General Hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries after being struck by an oncoming car.
The grade 11 student who attended Reynolds Secondary School was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Cedar Hill Cross Road and Merriman Drive when he was struck.
He had just exited a bus and was about 100 feet away from his home.
According to a Facebook statement from his mom, Crystal Bourque, he never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead Tuesday afternoon.
His organs were donated to help eight others.
“Kaydence’s operation started at 5:30 a.m., we kissed him as much as we could and followed him to the elevator of the OR. Talking to the transplant team his operation will be around 4 hours. Then he will bless others like he did while he was here, my sweet boy,” Crystal said in an update on a GoFundMe page set up for the family.
Over the past two years, the District of Saanich said they have worked to improve road safety in the region.
“Our hearts and condolences are with the family during this time filled with grief,” said Mayor Haynes.
“We hear the concerns and calls for improvements to road safety and agree more needs to be done. Saanich is committed to improving road safety across the municipality and taking action.”
Improvements include constructing four kilometers of new sidewalks and building or improving over 23 crosswalks, with a specific focus to areas around schools.
In addition, 26 traffic signals were improved with the implementation of leading pedestrian intervals.
In 2021, Council invested an additional $2 million each year into new infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists. This new investment brought the total investment to $58 million over the next three years.
The Bourque family has asked for digital pictures or memories of their son to be sent to RememberKaydenceBourque@gmail.com.
A GoFundMe has also been set up to help the Bourque family during this difficult time. You can donate here.
At the time of publication, the GoFundMe had raised $43,605 of its $45,000 goal from over 500 donations.
