Police say “speed was a factor” in a collision that killed a man operating a motorcycle early Tuesday evening in north Etobicoke.
The crash happened in the Rexdale neighbourhood, near Kipling Avenue and Steeles Avenue West.
Speaking to the media at the scene, Acting Insp. Baheer Sarvanandan, of Toronto Police Service, said around 7 p.m. this evening they received multiple calls about a motorcycle that had been involved in a collision with another vehicle and a TTC bus.
He said a 29-year-old man operating a motorcycle was travelling northbound on Kipling, near the intersection of Steeles, when he “became separated” from his vehicle and “ended up underneath the bus that was traveling northbound on the curb lane.”
“(It) still continued to with the momentum, proceeded into the intersection, and collided with another vehicle traveling eastbound,” said Sarvanandan, who added that despite the life-saving efforts of paramedics, firefighters, and police officers, the motorcyclist was pronounced dead.
In a news release, police said a green motorcycle was traveling at a “high rate of speed,” northbound on Kipling towards Steeles.
At the same time, a TTC bus was stopped at a bus stop to let passengers off.
Police say the motorcyclist, identified as a 29-year-old man, lost control and hit the back of the stopped bus. He was taken to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where he was pronounced deceased, the said.
Sarvanandan said the motorcycle was carried well over 200 metres from the initial crash site.
The motorcyclist was freed from underneath the bus and rushed to a trauma centre in life-threatening condition, but succumbed to his injuries, police said in a previous post on social media.
Paramedics had initially told CTV News Toronto that they transported a man in his 40s to a trauma centre.
No one on the bus was injured, however the driver is traumatized, Sarvanandan said.
People who witnessed the collision say speeding has long been a concern in the area.
“Before the crash happened, we heard motorcycles zooming up and down,” one person told CTV News Toronto.
“We heard a screech and our coach came and told us there was a guy on the ground and his bike was on the other side of the intersection.”
Another witness said they heard a “loud bang.”
“My dad came and said a bike was on one side and the guy was on the other. Prior to that I heard bikes zooming up and down,” they said.
“Many, many months back, if it’s the same person, I had spoken to him. He always did stunts on this road. I told him ‘Don’t do it.’ He said he loves it. I said ‘Think about your parents’.”
Collision reconstructionists attended the scene to piece together what happened.
“I can tell you this is the 19th traffic fatality. And if you compare that to a shooting, 15 shooting homicides (have) happened (so far this year),” Sarvanandan noted.
“So road safety is still a priority. It’s important that (if) someone, you know, decides to speed or not be careful, you know, we take that seriously.”
Anyone with further information, including local residents, businesses, and drivers who may have security or dash camera footage of the area or incident, is asked to contact Traffic Services at 416-808-1900 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
