A lawsuit launched by the family of a man who died after he was struck by a person who fell from the Leaside Bridge in Toronto says the city should have done more to prevent his death.
76-year-old Thornhill resident Harold Lusthouse was in the passenger seat of a vehicle travelling north on the Don Valley Parkway on June 16, 2024 on his way to a Father’s Day brunch. Then, shortly before noon, a man who was walking on the bridge overhead “jumped or fell to his death,” according to a statement of claim filed Tuesday.
The man landed on the car Lusthouse was in, “violently crushing him” and leaving him with “catastrophic” injuries.
Lusthouse was hospitalized and died on June 18 – four days before his 77th birthday.
The $1.7-million lawsuit, which lists Lusthouse’s daughter, Tali Uditsky, son, Landon, and grandchildren as plaintiffs, alleges that the city was negligent when it failed to install a barrier on the bridge “when it knew or ought to have known the risks of failing to do so.”
“The Defendant, City of Toronto knew or ought to have known, since at least 2003 (if not earlier), that the Leaside Bridge was a common site for falls and/or suicide attempts which it knew or ought to have known rendered the Leaside Bridge unsafe for pedestrians and/or vehicular traffic travelling on the Don Valley Parkway without reasonable safety measures in place,” the claim read in part.
Toronto police haven’t confirmed that the man who fell on the car Lusthouse was in on June 16 died by suicide, but said at the time that he had fallen. In an email to CTV News Toronto on Friday, police said they are not investigating the fall as a “criminal incident.”
In a statement to CTV News Toronto, a spokesperson for the city said it had received the lawsuit and will respond in “due course.”
“The City has no further comment as the matter is before the court,” they said.
The Leaside Bridge is roughly 6.5 kilometres north of the Bloor Viaduct, which was once second in North America to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge for suicides until a barrier was installed in 2003.
A study published in 2017 found that only one person had died by suicide at the bridge in the 11 years that followed the barrier’s installation, compared to the average of nine people per year in the 11 years before that.
The suit makes reference to a 2018 report from Toronto’s top doctor which addressed the topic of suicide prevention through bridge modification and the risk a jump or fall from these structures presents to motorists and pedestrians underneath. The report triggered the city to conduct a feasibility study on implementing barriers and/or other interventions on “priority bridge locations.”
However, the lawsuit alleges that since then the city “failed to implement and/or consider safety measures on the Leaside Bridge.”
Uditsky and Landon spoke at Toronto’s Infrastructure and Environment Committee on April 9, with the former saying that the June 16 incident was “reminiscent of a horror movie.”
“How could this happen? How could drivers and passengers travelling 100 km/h on the Don Valley Parkway, a busy highway, be exposed to this kind of danger. I was shocked, devastated, angry and my heart felt like it was going to explode,” Uditsky said through tears.
“I felt sick and to this day I continue to grieve my father. My loving dad who deserved so many more years of life. He was the picture of health. He was stolen from us. Taken away as a result of the failure of the city to protect its citizens. This could have happened to anyone.”
Following Uditizky’s address, city council voted in favour of implementing “immediate safety measures” at the bridge while work is carried out for a more permanent design. A report on those plans is expected to be delivered at the Sept. 26 Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, here are some resources that are available:
- Canada Suicide Prevention Helpline (1-833-456-4566)
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (1 800 463-2338)
- Crisis Services Canada (1-833-456-4566 or text 45645)
- Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868)
If you need immediate assistance, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital.
