The father of a man who was hit by an STM bus 10 days ago is sounding the alarm about pedestrian road safety.
Twenty-seven-year-old Jean-Frederick David was hit by the bus on Jan. 9 at the corner of Notre Dame and Le Brun streets in the East End.
He suffered multiple fractures to his skull and ribs, lost a kidney, and is currently battling a bacterial infection in his lungs. He is in a medically-induced coma at Sacre Coeur hospital, fighting for his life.
“It was a shock. I am still in shock from what I saw. All those tubes,” said his father, Jean-Charles David.
Jean-Charles says he found out about the accident from two police officers.
They knocked on his door at 11 p.m. the night the incident happened, asking if he was the father of Jean-Frederick David.
“It felt like one of the worst moments of my life, actually. I almost fell down on the floor when they told me,” Jean-Charles said.
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Jean-Charles says he learned from police that his son was wearing headphones at the time of the accident, and had darted between two cars to cross the street, jaywalking rather than walking at the crosswalk. He was also wearing all black at the time of the accident.
“I do not think he was in the wrong. I think he made a mistake,” he said. “You don’t think it will happen to you, then you get hit by a bus and it changes your life forever.”
Jean-Charles actually praises the actions of the bus driver.
He says he understands she was a woman in her 40s who reacted quickly to help. He says he was told she never saw his son, but felt the impact when she hit him. He says she immediately applied the emergency brake, which stopped the bus in its tracks. He says she rushed to help Jean-Frederick, and praised her quick response.
“She saved his life, she saved his life,” he said. “I am really, really grateful to the bus driver to have done the right thing. Me and my family are really grateful to her because she did the right thing and saved my son’s life.”
Jean-Charles says he is now on a mission to warn pedestrians about the dangers of buses and cars.
Official data show that 80 pedestrians were killed on Quebec roads in 2024, according to the province’s road safety report.
Jean-Charles says its important parents speak to their kids, especially when it comes to wearing headphones.
“Be careful around a bus, be careful when you cross the street,” he said. “Talk to your children about that. They have to be careful.”
Jean-Francois says he hasn’t been able to work since the accident and has set up a go fund me campaign to help with expenses. He visits his son daily.
“There is no one in this earth who believes in him more than me. He will get through this.”
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