Kimberlee Blunt, seven, spent a month at the Hospital for Sick Children being treated for the broken growth plate in her left leg last year.
It was another month before she could walk again, which her parents attribute to mental, not physical, scarring.
Yesterday, Kimberlee returned to the hospital to kick off this year’s Safe Kids Canada campaign, bringing with her a simple message for drivers: “Be careful and watch out for kids.”
Pedestrian accidents kill 30 Canadian children each year, seriously injuring 2,412 more, said Pamela Fuselli, executive director of Safe Kids Canada, the Hospital for Sick Children’s national injury prevention program.
A child hit by a car travelling 50 km/h has an 80 per cent chance of being killed, Fuselli said. But a child hit by a car going only 30 km/h has up to a 95 per chance of surviving.
It’s simple logic — slower is safer.
