The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them. Lois McMaster BujoldThis memorial website was created to remember our dearest Andrea Pike- Pennefather who was born in Canada in 1970 and passed away on May 30, 2000. You will live forever in our memories and hearts.
"If you race...the street is not the place."
That's the message from police across Ontario who are trying to put the brakes on street racing.
Seventeen police services, including all of them in the GTA, have joined together in this year's Project E.R.A.S.E. (Eliminate Racing On Streets Everywhere) campaign. The campaign kick-off was held in a hangar at Buttonville Airport in Markham for the kick-off. The hangar was chosen because it is also home to the York Regional Police helicopter, Air2. The chopper is also used in the fight against street racers.
Thirty-eight people have died in street racing accidents since 1999.
Nancy Pennyfather knows the dangers of street racing all too well. In May 2000, her 29-year-old daughter Andrea Pike was killed by a street racer. The 26-year-old driver who spent nine months in jail was racing down Woodbine Avenue in Markham at 2pm. He was driving at 171 kmh in a 70kmh zone.
"He had free will. He was fully conscious of what he was doing - no drugs, no alcohol. He chose to speed. He killed my daughter," said Pennyfather.
"It's now into a completely urban environment, not that it makes it right in other locations but just the sheer traffic volumes in the north Toronto, south York Region, GTA, there's always somebody out," said York Regional Police Sgt. Dave Mitchell, who has been leading the fight against street racing in York Region for years. He is one of the founding members of Project E.R.A.S.E.
Legislation at Queen's Park, if passed, would increase the maximum fine from $1,000 to $10,000 and the minimum fine would be $2,000. It would also allow police to impound a suspect's car on the spot for seven days.
Sgt. Mitchell said having 17 police services working together will help stop the aggressive motorheads in their tracks. Many drivers race in areas near regional boundaries, counting on jurisdictional confusion to get away from police.
All of the GTA police services are involved along with police in Brantford, Guelph, Sudbury, Hamilton, London, Sault Ste. Marie and Waterloo Region.
