Pedestrian, 78, dies after getting hit by car on Osborne Street

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This article was published 09/10/2022 (761 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tenants of Fred Tipping Place are mourning the loss of a long-time resident who died shortly after being hit by a motorist when he was crossing Osborne Street late Sunday.

Jim Aitkenhead — who was affectionately known as “Jimmy” and “Gentleman Jim,” by friends, neighbours and family — was taken to hospital in unstable condition on the eve of Thanksgiving.

Aitkenhead succumbed to injuries he suffered in a collision outside his retirement home at 601 Osborne St. He was 78.

“He was just a gentleman… He would give you the shirt off his back,” said Gail Hill, a lifelong friend who moved into the apartment building around the same time as Aitkenhead did more than 20 years ago.

Throughout his tenure as a tenant, the senior made a name for himself as an entrepreneur. He frequented the local community centre parking lot on weekends to sell used furniture and antiques of all kinds.

Community members said “Gentleman Jim” was a staple in South Osborne who spent most of his life in the neighbourhood.

When Hill went downstairs on Sunday night to find out what all the commotion was about, after seeing police vehicles outside a window in her unit on the 15th floor, the resident said she was devastated and called one of Aitkenhead’s brothers.

Police responded to a call about a collision involving a driver and pedestrian near the intersection of Osborne Street and Bartlett Avenue at approximately 9:54 p.m. on Sunday.

Upon their arrival, emergency personnel met with the driver of the vehicle, a woman in her 80s, and transported the victim to hospital, according to a news release from the Winnipeg Police Service.

Winnipeg police Const. Jay Murray said an investigation is ongoing. As of Monday afternoon, no charges had been laid.

The speed limit in the area is 50 km/h. There are traffic lights about 80 metres north of the retirement home, as well as a designated pedestrian crosswalk nearly 250 metres south of it.

Jaywalking across the busy street to and from the retirement home and 7-Eleven is commonplace among tenants because many of them have mobility issues, according to community members.

This is not the first time an elderly resident has been hit by a car in the area.

A former homecare worker at the facility said she is aware of at least four incidents.

The east-west green-light at the intersection of Osborne Street and Morley Avenue is also not long enough to allow seniors to get across safely, said Tracy Rose, who met and became close with Aitkenhead when she worked at the retirement home.

Rose said something needs to change to keep residents safe and ensure this does not happen again.

Aitkenhead, who was a single divorcée, did not have any children. Not long after he and Rose became acquainted in an apartment elevator, they developed a father-daughter-like relationship that endured after she left her job. She was the sole woman allowed in the crib club he ran for his male friends.

Rose said the senior was easygoing, nonjudgmental and kind, despite having faced many challenges throughout his life, including being involved in a serious car accident and brain aneurysm.

“We talked every day and every day we talked, it never ended without us both saying ‘I love you.’ He was just a super, super special man and he was so wise,” Rose said, noting she is grateful they spent the afternoon together Sunday before he attended a family dinner with siblings.

Given the senior’s health was deteriorating, he required a walker to get around.

Gary Baynes was among those who helped Aitkenhead bring his antiques in and out on weekends due to his mobility challenges. A fellow Fred Tipping tenant, Baynes said he often offered to get his friend a pack of cigarettes and scratch tickets from the convenience store to save him the trip.

Outside the residence Monday, Baynes said he barely slept after finding Aitkenhead’s mobility device on the scene late Sunday, taking it upstairs and retrieving his keys to turn off the senior’s lights in his apartment.

“He was just a great guy. He was nice to everybody and he had some good stories,” he said.

If someone could not afford a garage sale item, Baynes said his friend, who once owned an antique store on Osborne, would give it away for free.

Witnesses and anyone with information about the Sunday collision, including dash camera footage, is asked to contact investigators at 204-986-7085.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie