Eighty-year-old woman killed at a downtown Toronto crosswalk
Death is city’s fourth pedestrian fatality of the year
Toronto saw its fourth pedestrian death of the year Friday morning. An 80-year-old woman was killed by a female driver, also 80, while she was crossing the crosswalk at College and Bay Street late Friday morning, police say.
Toronto police say the driver was behind the wheel of a dark purple Honda when she went to turn right on College Street. She struck the pedestrian in the crosswalk. The pedestrian was taken to hospital in critical condition and succumbed to her injuries later in the day.
“Today’s incident at Bay and College is a tragedy, plain and simple. On behalf of all of the people of the City of Toronto I extend my sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victim,” Mayor John Tory said in a statement.
Tory told the Star that the city is still committed to the Vision Zero program to eliminate pedestrian deaths, but it has a “long way to go” to reach its goal of zero traffic-related fatalities and injuries.
The city of Toronto’s Vision Zero Road Safety Plan has been in place since 2016.
Since 2017, 169 pedestrians have been killed to date on Toronto streets, according to city data.
In 2019, Vision Zero was revamped after proving unsuccessful in the years prior.
Since 2019, pedestrian deaths fell from 39 in 2019 to 21 in 2020 and 27 in 2021, a period that coincided with the advent of COVID-19, lockdown measures and a significant drop in traffic.
In the city’s 2022 budget approved on Thursday, $64 million was allotted to Vision Zero, more than has been spent in any one year on the program.
The project’s initiatives include installing more red-light cameras and safety zones where speeds are lowered, as well as increasing traffic control and crossing guards. The city is also working to change road designs in areas of high traffic.
Police are asking for anyone who witnessed the incident or with dash cam or security footage to contact police at 416-8081900 or Crime Stoppers at 416222-TIPS.
Three other pedestrians have been killed so far on Toronto roads this year:
■ A man was struck by a driver in Scarborough on Jan. 6 and was taken to hospital in lifethreatening condition and dies that day. The driver failed to remain at the scene.
■ A 52-year-old man was hit and killed at Weston Road and Knob Hill Drive on Jan. 22. The victim was rushed to the hospital where he died. The driver did not remain at the scene, but was arrested later.
■ An 84-year-old man was struck and killed by a driver leaving a gas station at Islington Avenue and the Queensway in Etobicoke on Jan. 28. The man was rushed to the hospital, but died that day.