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Cole Harbour mother speaks out after toddler struck in crosswalk
WATCH: It's any parent’s worst nightmare. Your child struck by a car. But that's the scenario one Cole Harbour mother faced this past weekend and now she's speaking about the incident. Dave Squires reports – Jul 20, 2017
Denika Coakley of Cole Harbour says her three-year old daughter Ari Coakley-Dechamp is on the mend after being struck by a vehicle at a crosswalk in Dartmouth last Saturday.
Ari was hit at a crosswalk on Thistle Street and Wyse Road while walking with her family to get ice cream.
“My mother-in-law was in front holding Ari’s hand and Ari had stepped out,” Coakley said. “The car swiped all over them and took Ari’s foot and drove over her foot and flipping her.”The driver in the incident didn’t stop right away.
“I’m upset, it’s really hard as a mom that someone would drive away. I think that’s what bothers me the most.”
The driver has since been charged for failing to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk.“It is shocking and it’s upsetting,” said Const. Dianne Penfound.
Minor injuries, but repeated hospital visits
Ari was checked at scene by paramedics and suffered minor injuries to her foot as a result of the collision. But she has since been back to the hospital numerous times.
Ari’s foot was run over by the vehicle in the crosswalk.
Denika Coakley
“We were in and out of the hospital with a suspected concussion.”Her mother said the incident has also taken a toll mentally on the three-year-old. She said Ari hasn’t been sleeping properly and is now nervous when out for a walk.“We had to cross several streets with parking to get there and Ari was terrified. She was like, ‘Quick mommy quick.’ She kept saying, ‘Is a car going to hit us mommy? Is a car going to hit us again?'”Denika says she worries about the long-term psychological effect the incident will have on Ari.
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