The family of an 89-year-old man who was fatally struck by a vehicle in Montreal’s St-Leonard borough last May installed a commemorative plaque to honour him and to raise awareness.
The plaque — a pair of white sneakers — was installed on Sunday at a parking lot near the intersection of Jarry and Langelier streets where Giuseppe Di Gioacchino was critically injured after being struck by a vehicle on May 12. The octogenarian passed away two weeks later.
Several family members, close friends and local elected officials took part in the ceremony, according to Souliers et vélos fantômes Québec (SVFQ), an organization that erects and maintains memorials honouring victims of traffic violence in the province.
SVFQ says it has so far installed 36 memorials in the province.
In a press release, SVFQ says 75 pedestrians lost their lives on Quebec’s roads in 2025, which is 13.6 per cent higher than the average for the previous five years according to data from Quebec’s autoinsurance board. Older adults are among the most vulnerable.
“Our cities should be places where pedestrians and cyclists can get around safely,” says Shanti Larochelle, spokesperson for SVFQ. “Deaths like Giuseppe’s are not inevitable. Solutions exist to make our streets and neighborhoods safer, and it is up to policymakers to implement them.”
The organization also called for the implementation of Vision Zero, a policy adopted by Montreal in 2017, which calls for redesigning the city’s infrastructure to account for human error and prevent deaths or serious injuries.
Keep it Factual
Add CityNews Montreal as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.
