A City of Winnipeg employee has been charged under the Manitoba Highway Traffic Act after allegedly hitting 25-year-old Margaret Justine Cobiness Jr. with a city-owned van and fleeing the scene on March 15. The crash left Cobiness Jr., a mother of two from Buffalo Point First Nation, with extensive injuries, including a broken pelvis.
Police say the incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. at Osborne Street and Mulvey Avenue E. Surveillance and investigation later identified the vehicle as a Ford Transit van registered to the city. The male driver turned himself in on April 2 and now faces charges of careless driving, failing to yield to a pedestrian, and failing to provide information to the injured party.
Cobiness Jr., who is still recovering and unable to walk, says the charges feel like a “slap on the wrist.” She recalls making eye contact with the driver before he accelerated and struck her, saying, “It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
The Winnipeg Police Service confirmed the charges are serious and could result in court-imposed penalties or jail time, but no criminal charges have been laid. The police also stated there’s no evidence to support the family’s earlier belief that the incident was an attempted kidnapping.
Cobiness Jr. continues to speak out, calling her experience evidence of systemic failure toward Indigenous people, saying, “The system is broken and it continues to fail the Indigenous peoples and their safety. I don’t want to be silenced.”
The City of Winnipeg declined to comment, citing the ongoing police and HR investigation.
Source: Swifteradio.com
