Toronto police say they’ve located one of two vehicles allegedly involved in a hit-and-run in southwest Scarborough late last week that claimed the life of a 27-year-old woman.
The collision happened on May 8 near Birchmount Road and St. Clair Avenue East.
Police say the victim was walking in the northbound lanes of Birchmount, near Anaconda Avenue, when she was struck by the driver of a white cargo van who was heading in the same direction.
The motorist fled the area and has not been found.
Police say they located that van on Friday following another collision in Scarborough, near Kingston and McCowan roads.
The victim was then hit by a second motorist who was operating a dark SUV and travelling southbound on Birchmount. That driver also failed to remain at the scene of the collision and also remains outstanding, police said.
She died at the scene.
Investigators have not determined why the woman walking in the middle of the road at that time.
On Friday, CTV News Toronto obtained videos that appears to show the moments just before the fatal fail-to-remain crash. In the footage, a woman wearing dark-coloured clothing is seen walking into a live lane of traffic with motorists veering around her.
Not long after, she was struck by the drivers of a van and a SUV, both of whom fled the scene.
Lawrence Clementes, who witnessed the collision, told CTV News Toronto that several drivers honked at the pedestrian to try and get her off the road. He said he and his partner called 911 to notify police about the situation.
“And then suddenly, a vehicle going northbound from St. Clair unfortunately hit the person,” Clementes said.
“It was a fatal hit because the lady flew over a couple of metres, I would say. And then another vehicle going southbound ran over the lady.”
He said they rushed towards the woman, stopping traffic so they could safely check on her.
“Among the vehicles that we stopped, there was an off-duty firefighter. So, the two of us kind of assessed the situation,” Clementes recounted, adding that they were still on the phone with 911 at that time.
“We did what we could, but unfortunately, the lady passed. … We were really hoping for the person to survive.”
Toronto police say they also want to speak with the drivers of a black Chevy Tahoe, a light-coloured SUV, and a dark sedan, who were travelling southbound on Birchmount at about 9:25 p.m. last Thursday.
This investigation is ongoing and anyone with further information is asked to contact Traffic Services at 416-808-1900 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
With files from CP24’s Bryann Aguilar and CTV News Toronto’s Allison Hurst
