Toronto police report 15 pedestrians, 1 cyclist, struck in 10-hour period

By News Staff

The number of pedestrians hit by drivers continues to climb.

Toronto police Const. Clint Stibbe says that from 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday to 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 15 pedestrians and one cyclist were hit.

There were a total of 42 collisions in that time, Stibbe added.

“These numbers are terribly high,” Stibbe said.

“When we look at these collisions, it’s because somebody made a mistake. What we’ve got [are] individuals stepping out onto the roadway when they shouldn’t be, and drivers that aren’t taking that second look.”

Stibbe said fatal collisions involving pedestrians tend to happen at three main times: when drivers are making left turns, when drivers are making right turns, and when pedestrians are crossing mid-block.

The numbers from Toronto paramedics are much higher.

From 6 p.m. on Tuesday to early-morning Wednesday, EMS told CityNews they had treated 27 separate people after they had been hit by a vehicle.

Two of those people are now in hospital with life-threatening injuries.

There is a difference in the numbers reported by police and paramedics. EMS told CityNews they often respond to calls that police don’t. For example, in one case on Tuesday night, a woman was hit by a car, but felt fine and went home. Later that night she felt pain, and called 911 then. The police would not have come to her home in that case.

Of the 76 people killed in crashes so far this year, 42 were pedestrians, Toronto police said. That means more than half the people killed in car crashes weren’t in the car.

The 42nd victim was a woman who had just left a seniors’ home near Bathurst Street near Sheppard Avenue West. She was crossing the street, using a walker, when she was struck and killed.

Weather and darkness may have played a factor in some of Tuesday’s collisions.

 

Facts and figures about pedestrian injuries and deaths

  • You are most likely to be hit by a car in the downtown core, from Bathurst to Sherbourne streets and from Front to Bloor.
  • Most pedestrian deaths happen outside of the downtown core due to the age of the victims. Younger people are more likely to survive being hit by a car.
  • Eighty-two per cent of people who die after being hit by a car are 55 years or older.
  • Of the 76 traffic deaths this year, 42 were pedestrians.

 

Top 3 causes of pedestrian deaths:

1. Left-hand turn
2. Right-hand turn
3. Mid-block crossing

Source: Toronto Police Service

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