Amelie Limberger, a 23-year old German exchange student studying at the University of Waterloo, died after being struck by a car in Uptown Waterloo last week.
The fatal collision took place at the intersection of King Street and Willis Way on Oct. 25 just after 5:30 p.m.. Thus far, charges have not been laid and an investigation is ongoing.
According to information released by the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS), Limberger was crossing eastbound on King Street when a silver Volvo heading southbound struck her on King Street South. The driver has been identified as a 23-year old Waterloo male.
The president of the University of Waterloo (UW) Federation of Students Andrew Noble expressed his sympathy in an email statement: “I haven’t had the opportunity to speak with the family of Amelie Limberger, but I send my deepest condolences to them and her friends. This is a very tragic situation, and I’d like students to know that Feds is able to provide access to resources that will help them express their grief.”
Limberger was on a one-year exchange from the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences in Germany.
The statement continued with a reminder from Noble that, “Safety is everyone’s responsibility. It is not only students that must make efforts to keep our community safe but also police, government, city developers, drivers and citizens as a whole. As our city grows, I encourage students to be mindful of the increased traffic.”
Bob Henderson, the manager of transportation engineering for the Region of Waterloo stated that information has not yet been released involving causal factors, but that the Region does investigate.
“We await the information from our police and we’ll look at the attributing factors that led to the collision to determine if there are any patterns related there, and if so, if there is any unusual patterns, we’ll try to target it with the appropriate collision counter-measures,” Henderson explained.
Overall, he said, traffic in the region has been increasing with the influx of people moving to the region.
This, however, has not been reflected in the number of pedestrian-related collisions.
“Pedestrian collisions have been stable for quite some time, even though there are more pedestrians out walking,” said Henderson. “We’ve been seeing anywhere between 98 and 150 pedestrian collisions a year.”
70 per cent of pedestrian collisions, occording to Henderson, occur at traffic signals.
Part of improving pedestrian safety is understanding why some of these issues are happening and that’s the way to focus in on these issues and address it properly.
Anyone with information related to the accident that resulted in Limberger’s death are encouraged to contact police. Plans are being made by UW to arrange a memorial service for those who are unable to attend the funeral, as it is being held in Germany.