Toronto police say a female pedestrian was found dead in the middle of an intersection in Toronto’s Forest Hill neighbourhood early Friday morning.
Police said the woman’s body was found in the intersection of Bathurst Street and Eglinton Avenue West.
Const. Hugh Smith said a truck involved in the collision was making a right turn into the intersection, heading up a slight incline, and may or may not have seen the 21-year-old pedestrian, who was crossing the street in the appropriate place. The truck struck the woman as it turned, Smith said.
A motorist following the truck caught the driver's attention later and got it to stop. The four-axle tanker truck involved in the collision stopped several hundred metres south of the intersection on Bathurst Street.
The motorist then drove the truck driver back to the scene of the collision. Upon arrival, the driver saw what had occurred and went into shock. Smith said the driver was taken to hospital to be checked out.
It's the 34th fatal pedestrian-involved collision of the year, Smith said. Collisions between vehicles and pedestrians always spike in November, when daytime hours are limited, plunging the evening rush hour and the early morning into darkness.
In the past seven days, three pedestrians in their 20s, two men and one woman, have been struck and killed by vehicles in the GTA.
"This was preventable, there was some type of human error here, and we have to look at all the factors that account for this," Smith said.
The intersection is closed in all directions to allow for a collision reconstruction investigation. The intersection may re-open to traffic some time around 10 a.m., Smith said.
Speaking to reporters later on Friday morning, Toronto Mayor John Tory said the onus remains on drivers to remain vigilant for pedestrians and cyclists at all times.
"(Drivers are) the ones who are in vehicles surrounded by two tonnes of steel or more, so they're less vulnerable," Tory said. "We've adjusted laws and speed limits and done things like that as appropriate in areas where people might be particularly vulnerable, but it's mostly about vigilance and education."
