Westmount benches honour young woman who died saving brother

Two new benches outside the Westmount Public Library now stand as a tribute to a sister whose courage cost her life.

Unveiled Friday, the benches are dedicated to Jessica Holman-Price, who died under the wheels of a snow-removal truck 10 years ago.

Jessica, 21 at the time, had saved her younger brother, Peter Luc, who was standing ona snowbank when the truck hit him.

He was 10 years old.

"I got hit and as I went under, I guess she reached for me and she went under too. She pushed me out and, well, saved my life," Peter Luc Holman-Price said at the unveiling ceremony for the benches.

One bench is dedicated to Jessica, and the other to Peter Luc. But it's an honour that makes himuneasy.

"I feel like this spotlight's slightly being shined on the wrong thing. At least for myself, I wasn't really a hero. We were statistics. Something unfortunate happened to us," he said.

For his mother, Jeannette Holman-Price, it was a chance to turn grief into celebration.

"It was lovely to be able to be here and not be crying. It was so nice to be able to be here and see what a difference my little girl made," she said.

Jessica's death sparked changes in Westmount snow removal operations. Now all the city's heavy trucks are equipped with side rails.

Most of them also have a camera in the back to increase the driver's visibility.

And Jeannette hopes that one day every city in the country will follow suit.