Terrible 24 Hours For Pedestrians In T.O.

suspected drunk driving accident

A bizarre accident has left a 65-year-old man dead and an elderly woman shaken after two separate incidents within blocks of each other.

The most serious occurred on Wilson Ave. near Bathurst St. at the height of the morning rush Thursday, as a man tried to cross the street. He was apparently jaywalking  when he was knocked over by a car.

He fell out of view on the road and it’s believed a T.T.C. bus ran over him, leaving him with fatal injuries.

He died at the scene.

“The male was struck by a vehicle in the passing lane, knocked to the roadway and we believe it was then engaged by a Toronto Transit Commission bus,” explains Det. Wally Watts. “We believe the bus involved pulled out from a bus stop and passed over top of the pedestrian.”

Police were forced to close Wilson Ave. for hours as they attempted to reconstruct the tragedy and locate the bus involved.

“It is not just one bus,” Watts adds. “It is locating buses that were in that area, on that route at the time of this occurrence happening … We have a lot for work to do on this.”

Area residents and business owners are used to the endless traffic jams and tragedies. They’ve seen it all too often.

“This is probably the fifth fatality in this area within the last five years,” points out a man named Erez, who runs a store not far from the accident scene.

He claims a combination of always rushing drivers and an elderly population that lives around the intersection is a recipe for danger. “It is just always, always busy around here,” he shrugs.

Minutes later, and just blocks away, an 84-year-old woman was hit by a vehicle at Fairlawn and Bathurst. She was conscious and breathing at the time she was transported to hospital. And while she suffered serious injuries, they’re not life threatening.

But that wasn’t the end of the tragedies. An apparent hit-and-run accident in North York resulted in a man being hospitalized with head injuries. According to police, the victim was struck while walking near Finch and Sentinel, west of Keele. His injuries aren’t considered life threatening, and so far there’s no word on what kind of vehicle police are seeking.

And a young boy was struck near his school around High Park.

Anyone with information for police can call Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477).