‘I just saw his body fly’: Boy, 3, recovering from head injury suffered in Toronto ferry crash

The parents of a three-year-old boy are speaking out after their son sustained a head injury while aboard a Toronto ferry that crashed at Jack Layton terminal over the weekend.

The incident happened around 5 p.m. on Saturday as the boat approached the terminal with more than 900 people on board. Twelve people sustained minor injuries, and five were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Jasmine Mallory was on the boat at the time of the sudden crash. She and her husband felt the impact instantly as their three-year-old son, Jack Mallory, was thrown from his feet.

“Before I had time to yell to [my husband] to grab him, I just saw his body fly. Our wagon and the wagon in front sandwiched him a bit,” Jasmine said.

Jack was enjoying playtime with family on Monday, but the deep cut and stitches above his left eye leave a reminder that the end of his day wasn’t all that fun.

“The injury to his eye we saw immediately. It was bleeding; there was blood all over his face,” Jasmine said. “People saw this, a little boy with blood… people, saw this, we didn’t know what was going on. It was pretty shocking.”

The Mallory’s were among the many standing and waiting at the front of the boat to get off as it came in. They quickly realized it wasn’t stopping.

“It didn’t slow down as we came in. Usually, the brakes come on right at the end, and you start to slow down before you get to the dock,” said Will Mallory, Jack’s father.

“It didn’t happen this time. We hit, and immediately you could tell within a millisecond before it hit that [the boat] was coming in too fast.”

Transport Canada clears Toronto’s Sam McBride ferry after weekend dock crash

Authorities said that Jack was one of two children and three adults who went to a local hospital.

“They were just telling all of the injured people to go to one side and all of the uninjured people to go to the other side so EMS could get to us,” Jasmine explained. “Unloading was delayed as there was damage to the docking [area].”

Industry safety experts have conducted a comprehensive inspection, and the City of Toronto says a final series of checks will be performed before the Sam McBride Ferry returns to full service.

Transport Canada has cleared Toronto’s Sam McBride ferry to return to service following a comprehensive inspection after Saturday’s ferry crash at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. Photo: Flickr.

“The TSB investigates an occurrence when there is a high probability that it can advance transportation safety and reduce risks to persons, property or the environment,” a TSB spokesperson told CityNews.

“Each class of occurrence follows a different process and results in a different product.”

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, and Toronto police confirmed it’s launching an independent investigation.

“It would feel good to know if it was a human error, a mechanical error and maybe what can be done to avoid it,” Jasmine said.

“Maybe even a capacity issue, providing that everyone has a seat, would have offset the injuries.”

The city says it welcomes news of a review by the TSB and that ferry staff are participating in an examination of safe docking procedures before each shift.

Wayne Smith, a professor at the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management in Toronto, said the crash and the reduced service would likely have a minimal impact on tourism in Toronto and its islands, mainly because the peak summer season is winding down.

With files from The Canadian Press