On Calgary’s dangerous roads, ‘bystander behaviour’ is under the microscope

As the City of Calgary deals with an alarming rate of serious collisions on its roads, experts and parents of students alike say they’re shocked by the behaviour of bystanders following a recent hit-and-run.

Just after 7 a.m. Tuesday, a youth was walking in a marked crosswalk in Calgary’s Taradale neighbourhood when they were struck by a white sedan, which then fled the scene.

Security video from a nearby home shows the boy writhing in pain on the ground, trying to crawl out of the roadway.

Police say the boy ended up in hospital with a broken leg.

Making matters worse, several vehicles drove right by the scene without rendering any help.

Another pedestrian, who was down the block when the collision occurred, ran over to tend to the boy — more than 30 seconds after he was hit.

Davoud Fatmi is a parent who lives in the area and he’s known about the dangers of that intersection for a while now.

“Nobody stops,” Fatmi told Global News. “Even for kids who are passing from the road crosswalk, nobody stops there.”

We showed the video to another parent, Yasmin Pathan, to get her reaction.

“They should have stopped and help out this situation,” Pathan said.

“If it was my child in this situation… it’s very bad.”

One Calgary psychologist calls this “the bystander effect.”

“The more people that are around in this situation, the less people are likely to come to assistance,” explained Dr. Martina Kanciruk. “It’s kind of a diffusion of responsibility.”

While there’s an explanation for the behaviour, Kanciruk says it’s still concerning.

“You know, we really have to get into the mindset of assuming that nobody else will help… if we see something, we have to take action,” Kanciruk said.

“Even if you’re scared to pull over to help somebody, at least call 911. Somebody might be thinking, ‘The other person’s going to do it,’ and it could be how long before someone actually gets help.”

The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) confirmed the victim was a student at one of their schools who was on their way to a bus stop.

“We remain concerned with the safety of students as they make their way to and from school and continue to reinforce safety awareness to students,” the CBE said in a statement.

While the incident didn’t involve a student with the Calgary Catholic School Division (CCSD), officials also sent out their best wishes to the victim and their loved ones.

“The safety of children around schools is something we all share responsibility for,” the statement read.  “We encourage all drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to remain vigilant, especially in school zones and crosswalks where students and families travel each day.”

Police say they’re still looking for the suspect and are canvassing the area for witnesses or additional surveillance footage.

Kanciruk says the mental scars from an incident like this could linger long after broken bones are healed.

“I imagine there will be a lot of fear, a lot of hesitation to do things independently… a lot of distrust, not thinking they can rely on the adults around them to help them out.”

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