The
identity of the 13 -year-old boy who was struck and killed
by a car while crossing the Hwy. 174 westbound on ramp at
Jeanne d'Arc Blvd. has been released to the public.
Simon
Peter Khouri was riding his bike with two friends shortly
after 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The trio had just left the Bob
MacQuarrie Recreation Centre where they had been swimming
and were biking northbound along the sidewalk against the
southbound traffic on Jeanne d'Arc.
They were
just crossing the on-ramp to Hwy. 174 at the same time a
man identified as Robert Ryan, 79, had turned onto the westbound
on-ramp with intention of merging onto the highway.
In an
interview with the Ottawa Citizen, Ryan said that
he managed to avoid the first two cyclists before hitting
Khouri with on the front passenger side of his car.
Khouri
suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of the collision
and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
No charges
have been laid in connection with the incident.
Funeral
services for Khouri will be held on Saturday at 9 a.m. at
Saint Paul Syriac Catholic Church on Kilborn Place.
In an
interview with CTV Ottawa, Khouri's father Bassil described
his son as an intelligent young man who loved playing the
drums and saxophone. He also said that his son was an avid
cyclist since the age of three and knew the rules of the
road. The
family is deeply religious. In fact, Khouri was named after
the apostle Simon Peter.
The two
boys who witnessed the aftermath of the collision are said
to be in shock.
The fatal
accident along with a second non-fatal incident involving
a cyclist and a motor vehicle in Barrhaven the same day
has sparked a debate over bike safety in Ottawa and in particular,
how crosswalks at on-ramps to Hwy. 174 can be made safer.
There
are similar crosswalks at both the eastbound on-ramp on
Jeanne d'Arc Blvd. and the westbound on ramp on Champlain
Street.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)