Noz Kazemi says she and her boyfriend were driving down Lougheed Highway Friday night, with her baby and dog in the car, when two men ran out in front of them as they approached North Road, one of whom they later recognized as Toronto mayor Rob Ford.
"Two gentlemen ran right in front of us, quite a little bit of distance, but still if I was going any faster I definitely would have hit them."
Kazemi says they both rolled down their windows, wanting to swear at the pair. "The next thing, we recognized one of them and it was Rob Ford," she said.
Kazemi says she pulled into the gas station on the corner where Ford was being ticketed for jaywalking. She says the Toronto mayor drew such a crowd the police had to call for more officers to assist because 'everyone wanted a picture.'
"It was kind of a chaotic scene, but it was interesting."
Ford, who was in town for the funeral of his friend's mother, wasn't happy. He later told the Toronto Sun he was shocked that 'they went out of their way to do this.'
Kazemi sympathizes.
"I think he’s a normal person and it’s just been blown up," she said. "The poor guy was just crossing the street. And on Granville Street on a Friday or Saturday night so many people jay-walk you know, but because it’s Rob Ford it just kind of gets blown almost out of proportion."
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart begs to differ. After the incident, he wrote a Facebook post that the city had previously "asked Coquitlam RCMP to clamp down on the serious and risky issue of jaywalking."
"Perhaps visitors from out-of-town might not be aware of that. Sorry, Mayor Ford," the post said.
Stewart says that jaywalking remains one of the major reasons pedestrians are getting hit and killed by cars on Coquitlam roads, and the city takes pedestrian safety seriously.