I know the intersection well - it's a busy intersection in both directions, the streets are wide, it's open, no bushes or trees to obstruct views. Cars tend to speed on Britannia, but from the article she was moving along Britannia, so that should not have been an issue. There are ALLOT of aggressive/bad drivers in Meadowvale: people who run red lights, make rolling turns on a red light, drive through stop signs, aggressive driving, enter the intersection while pedestrians are in the crosswalk, etc. The area itself is full of visual distractions - lots of signes, lights, people, corner plaza and lots of cars. Seriously, that intersection is one of the crazier intersections in the area and has had many accidents over the years - usually due to the aggressive nature of the drivers.
It's hard to tell from the article exactly what happened, but I interpret the information as Madeleine Petrielli crossed illegally as the walk sign was not lit and the light was still amber in the opposite traffic direction. I wonder how she got hit and not him, perhaps she stepped out and the accident happened almost immediately, but how is it neither one saw the car coming? <-- it's a busy intersection, I can almost guarantee there were several cars at that intersection at the time of the accident.
From nottyboi's article:
"Five streetlights at the intersection were out at the time, according to Smitiuch.
Following Madeleine’s death, the family hired an engineer to assess the circumstances at the time of the incident.
“That assessment found that the lighting on the night of Madeleine’s death fell far below the minimum standards required of the city,” said Smitiuch."
Although an interesting point, I don't believe the lighting situation as relevant to the accident. The car would have headlights, so she should have seen the car. Even if the bad lighting prevented the driver from seeing her, I'm suggesting that the accident happened almost immediately after she illegally stepped off the curve (otherwise her boyfriend should have been hit too) so the lighting wasn't relevant. The police haven't laid charges in 3 months, so it likely wasn't the fault of the driver.