Police believe a 51-year-old man who died after he was struck by a taxi van in Brampton late on Wednesday night was intentionally struck down in the course of some sort of dispute.
Peel Regional Police say they were called to Sunny Meadow Boulevard and Red River Drive, south of Sandalwood Parkway East, just before 11 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a collision.
They arrived to find an adult male suffering from overwhelming trauma consistent with being run over by a vehicle.
He was rushed to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Const. Akhil Mooken said investigators identified the man but were still working to notify next of kin.
Mooken said a 53-year-old Brampton man, allegedly the driver of the van, was arrested for second-degree murder on Thursday.
The vehicle allegedly used was also seized by investigators.
The suspect will appear at a Brampton court on Friday.
In a video widely circulated on social media, the driver of a van with a bright light on the front portion of its roof is seen reversing with the passenger’s side door of the vehicle still open, while a man standing next to the vehicle appears to be speaking to the driver.
The driver then points the van in the direction of the victim and accelerates, running over his head and torso with the right front wheel, before reversing, straightening out and speeding off.
“We are aware that there is a video circulating but I am not able to speak about it at this time,” Mooken said, adding it may become evidence.
CP24 is airing only a short portion of the video due to its graphic nature.
Mooken said they considered the encounter “an isolated incident” and said there was no threat to public safety.
A woman who identified herself as Kiran said it was her home’s security camera that captured the incident told CP24 she did not recognize the victim.
She said several neighbours came outside to wait with the man while paramedics made their way to the scene.
“In a festive season, somebody dying, that’s bad,” she said,
