Photo Essay: It could happen anywhere, to anyone. Pedestrian fatalities across the HRM
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A woman crosses the street at Jubilee Road and Vernon Street in Halifax, where Alexandria Wortman was struck and killed.A closer look at three of the victims and accident sites of people who lost their lives while crossing the street
In 2025, four Halifax-area pedestrians were killed in vehicle collisions, the most fatal collisions involving pedestrians in the past six years. This brought the total of fatal pedestrian collisions on public roads since 2018 to a staggering 20 victims. It could happen to anyone: Halifax pedestrians killed in the last eight years span from 21 years old to 75.
This photo essay aims to shed light on the victims of these tragedies, and to memorialize them for who they were as individuals. The images tell the stories of three pedestrians, Alexandria Kate Wortman, 21, Kathleen (Kathy) Marie Warren, 68, and Dawn Anita Nichols, 74, who were all killed in crosswalks.
Jubilee Road and Vernon Street: Alexandria Kate Wortman
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Alexandria Wortman, as seen in her obituary. She was 21 when she died.
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Alexandria Wortman with former boyfriend Liam Coady.
On Jan. 27, 2025, Dalhousie University student Alexandria Kate Wortman was struck and killed by a speeding driver at the corner of Jubilee Road and Vernon Street. She was 21 years old.
In her obituary, Wortman is described by friends and family as someone with “a big heart and a passion for others.”
In a Chronicle Herald article detailing the sentencing of the driver, Deepak Sharma, Wortman is described by her father as “generous, intelligent, independent, curious, compassionate and headstrong.”
Wortman was expecting to graduate in the spring of 2025 with a bachelor of arts degree. She was planning on continuing her education to become a teacher.
Two students cross at Jubilee Road and Vernon Street as a car turns into the intersection. The car that killed Alexandria Wortman was going 126 km/h in a 50 km/h speed zone.
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Jan. 26, 2026 marks the one-year anniversary of Alexandria’s death. Fresh flowers were laid at the crash site, and candles were burned.
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Felt flowers, ribbons, a hair brush and fresh flowers adorn the stop sign pole at the Jubilee Road and Vernon Street accident site where Alexandria was killed.Portland Street and Eisener Boulevard: Kathleen (Kathy) Marie Warren
Photos of Kathy with her husband, laid out on her daughter Emma’s kitchen table
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Kathy, wearing one of her fascinators, with her granddaughters in 2012.On March 31, 2020, Kathleen (Kathy) Marie Warren was struck by a car and killed on a marked crosswalk in the intersection of Portland Street and Eisener Boulevard in Dartmouth. She was 68.
She was a wife, sister, mother and grandmother. Her obituary describes her as “the most generous, loving, adored soul and a shining light that brought smiles to all who knew her.”
She was famous for her chocolate peanut butter balls and had started volunteering at the Dartmouth General Hospital before she died.
Warren was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and had a passion for Scottish culture and her heritage. She was a dedicated member of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society of Nova Scotia and loved to dance.
After she died, Lydia Hedge from the RSCDS devised a Scottish country dance in her honour.
A car makes a right turn at the crosswalk between Portland Street and Eisener Boulevard in Dartmouth, on Feb. 3. Warren was hit in 2020, when a driver failed to yield the right of way while making a right turn. The speed limit was 60 km/h and there was no restriction preventing cars from turning right on red lights.
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Cars wait at a red light at the crosswalk at the corner of Portland Street and Eisener Boulevard in Dartmouth. The crash that killed Kathy Warren took place at 10:12 a.m. on an overcast day. The street’s speed limit was changed from 60 km/h to 50 km/h in 2022.
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A no right turn sign by Eisener Boulevard in Dartmouth on Feb. 3. The sign was added in 2024, four years after Warren was killed.Dunbrack Street and Clayton Park Drive: Dawn Anita Nichols
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Nikki Robar and her mother, Dawn Nichols.
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Dawn Nichols and her grandsons.On Feb. 18, 2020, Dawn Anita Nichols was killed while crossing the marked intersection of Dunbrack Street and Clayton Park Drive in Halifax. She was 74.
Nichols was on her way back from the grocery store when she was struck by an 83-year-old driver.
Nichols’s obituary describes her as a “free spirit,” a talented seamstress, and a gifted pianist.
She was raised in Goshen, Guysborough Co. and spent many years in Bridgewater and Antigonish. Her family requested that donations in her memory be made to the Nova Scotia SPCA.
Cars race past the intersection of Dunbrack Street and Clayton Park Drive. The intersection is especially busy in the early afternoon, which is when Dawn was killed.
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A pedestrian begins crossing the four-lane intersection at Dunbrack Street and Clayton Park Drive.
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Pedestrian crossing flags are placed near the crosswalk button at either side of Dunbrack Street and Clayton Park Drive.The families of these three victims have chosen charities and organizations for donations in their memories.
For Alexandria Wortman, donations can be made to MADD, CMHA Nova Scotia, Rainbow Action Project, Shelter Nova Scotia, Safe Passage or PAWS. For Kathy Warren, donations can be made to the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society Nova Scotia branch. For Dawn Nichols, donations can be made to the Nova Scotia SPCA.
About the author
Serra Hamilton
Serra is a Toronto native who's passionate about her work and loves learning through a journalistic lens. She's especially fond of visual stories.
T Freedhoff
Talia is a fourth year journalism student at the University of King's College. They enjoy writing, identifying strange edible plants and playing...
Luke McNabb
Luke is a one-year Bachelor of Journalism student from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He has an undergraduate degree in Communication and loves to...
