For many kids it’s a dream come true, getting out of doing chores and being allowed to sit on the couch all day playing video games.
But for 12-year-old Calgary boy Bentley St. John, being stuck at home is a reminder of the scariest moment of his life.
“Then he ran my leg over and I think that was wrong,” Bentley says.
“My friends, and there’s an officer, my mom and my family,” Bentley says, listing the signatures on the blue cast helping to heal his leg that was broken in three places Tuesday morning.
Bentley was walking in a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Tarington Way and Taradale Drive N.E. around 7:10 a.m. when he was hit by a car on his way to the bus stop.
The driver left the scene while bystanders assisted the young boy, who was taken to the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“I felt pretty sad and pretty upset he didn’t help me,” says Bentley. “Those people (who did help) had a lot of courage in them and they made my heart feel better.”
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Security camera footage of the collision shows Bentley making his way to the side of the road while several cars drive past the boy who was still on the ground before anyone stops to help.
“Disappointed in the community,” says Bentley’s older sister, Jaden Jacobson, after watching the video. “Watching cars drive by and no one caring.”
While Bentley recovers at home, Calgary police continue to search for the driver of the white sedan that hit him, now turning to the public for information.
“You’re operating a 3,000-lbs vehicle and you’re hitting a 70-lbs child,” says Jacobson. “Take accountability for your actions.”
Bentley’s scary encounter comes as the City of Calgary deals with a growing number of pedestrian involved collisions on city streets.
“Angry, sad, frustrated, annoyed,” says Bentley’s uncle, Gary Sinclair. “It keeps happening in this city and it feels like nothing is being done about it.”
The City of Calgary’s Vision Zero initiative aims to improve road safety. In 2025, 15 pedestrians lost their lives in traffic collision, an 11-year high and a 225 per cent year-over-year increase.
So far this year, Calgary police say 80 pedestrians have been hit between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28 — numbers Bentley’s family says are unacceptable.
“I want more police presence, especially in school zones,” says Sinclair. “I would like to see them out there, pull these people over, educated them, drill it into their head. And if we can’t get anything from that, increase fines, take licences away.”
Sinclair says drivers need to be paying more attention behind the wheel, adding what his family is going through now could have had much more dire consequences.
“He stopped, he waited, he started walking, and he even stopped in the middle of the road because he wasn’t sure what the cars were doing,” says Sinclair.
“I’m glad he did because if he had been a couple of steps further, this could be a whole different situation.”
Despite the traumatic event, Bentley is looking forward to getting back to school, but worries some of his classmates won’t feel safe walking to the bus stop after what happened to him.
“I feel scared for the other kids,” says Bentley. “I don’t think they would feel safe without streetlights or traffic lights.”
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