Girl, 12, Dies After Getting Hit By SUV In Carver County
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 12-year-old girl died after she was hit on a busy intersection of Highway 101 in Chanhassen.
The pink two-wheeler in her father, Scott Trudeau's, shed used to bring nothing but happy memories. Now, it's a reminder of what he's lost.
It was Wednesday afternoon when Trudeau's 12 year-old-daughter, Aimee Trudeau, was crossing Highway 101 at Sandy Hook Road on the way to a friend's house. She was wearing her bike helmet, but it wasn't enough to save her.
"I think there's a lot of people having that meeting with their kids. You can't count on it that someone is paying attention every single second," said John Farr, a neighbor.
For Farr, Wednesday's accident shows the problem with this busy stretch of Highway 101. The family neighborhood is divided by a 45 mph road with no crosswalk.
"Kids cross there twice a day and if someone's not paying attention -- yesterday," said Farr.
Aimee's accident happened just a block from her home and on Friday her dad took the painful steps back to the crash site. He built a memorial using her bike, a picture, and her soccer jersey.
It's a reminder for driver's to slow down, held in place with a father's grief.
On Thursday, State Patrol officers monitored speeds on the road. Trooper Azzahya Williams said most drivers were going below the speed limit, which is 45 mph, that afternoon.
"You've got people coming up here to express their concerns -- State Patrol and news crews -- people are going to slow down and take notice, but when we're not here: that's when the problems arise," she said.
Aimee attended school at Oak Point Elementary in Eden Prairie. The school sent a letter to her classmates alerting them of the accident and canceled a bike run scheduled for Thursday.
Jackson Evans, who rode the bus with Aimee, says her death will remind him to be careful when crossing 101.
"I'm going to make sure I can't see a car over those two hills," he said.
A Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office report said Trudeau died at 10:24 p.m. of multiple blunt force injuries.
