A Sherbrooke runner hit by a safety motorcycle during the Montreal Marathon is demanding accountability from the event organizers.
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Shanya Laroche-Boulanger saw her journey end abruptly on September 22, and is critical of the management of her accident.
Ms. Laroche-Boulanger, who was trying for the first time to complete the distance of a marathon, was hit by a safety motorcycle, in the middle of the course, when she was at the 28th kilometer.
“It was really like a little dream, everything was going really well, until I woke up in the ambulance,” she says, in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
“I lost consciousness, I also lost a few parts, once I arrived at the hospital,” she explains. It was the next day, however, that I received information from a runner who assisted me, who was there for me. That’s when I knew it was an organization bike,” says the 28-year-old rider.
Shanya Laroche-Boulanger has difficulty explaining how a safety motorcycle could hit a rider in the middle of the course, when few riders were around. Although it was an accident, she wants the organization of the Beneva Montreal Marathon to come back with a plan to prevent situations like this from happening again.
“There will never be a culprit, I’m not looking for a culprit either. It’s really more to raise questions about the relevance of motorcycles,” she muses.
“There are drones. Maybe we could make lanes reserved for motorcycles. The relevance also of having a certain speed [à respecter]knowing that the streets are blocked, that it is only for runners.” explains Shanya Laroche-Boulanger.
Simon Harvey, his great friend, also ran the marathon. He had just crossed the finish line when he received a call from a paramedic. He had to go to the hospital after an accident involving Shanya.
“We finally had contact with the medical coordinator only on Wednesday [trois jours plus tard]. He treated Shanya’s case like all the other heat strokes there have been while we agree that the magnitude is completely different, he thinks. That’s really what we blame the organization for, it’s the speed of reaction,” continues the young man.
The Beneva Montreal Marathon declined our interview request given the ongoing investigation by the SPVM. However, a written statement was provided to us by email.
“The organization is concerned by the situation experienced by participant Shanya Laroche-Boulanger and has been working closely with the SPVM since the incident,” explained the organization in its statement.
“Recall that the participant received the necessary medical services by Urgences santé, then that she was transported to a hospital center. She was released from the hospital within hours of her arrival, after the tests were reassuring about her state of health,” writes a spokesperson for the Beneva Montreal Marathon.
The organization says it contacted the participant on September 25 and has communicated with her daily since.
“The organization would like to reiterate that the safety of participants is at the heart of its priorities. She assures that based on the conclusions of the SPVM investigation and its internal review of the event, improvement measures will be implemented,” we can also read in the email.
While waiting for answers, Shanya plans to complete her first ever marathon in the coming weeks, in Sherbrooke. Simon wants to organize a race for her with parents and friends who can complete a distance with her. “She was completely robbed. The goal is for her to be able to complete her first marathon in her life,” he explains.
For Shanya, achieving this distance is all the more important since she had a bone tumor removed a year ago. “The next day [de l’accident]when I understood that I was in one piece, I said “I want to do my marathon anyway, I had trained for it!”,” she concludes.
