A hit-and-run driver in Toronto severely injured a 20-month-old boy who was in a stroller on a sidewalk in the city’s northeast end, police say.
Two occupants in an SUV are alleged to have got out and witnessed the toddler’s injuries, before one fled on foot. The other got back into the vehicle, which drove off. The boy’s mother and another woman also suffered serious injuries. The impact dislodged the car’s front licence plate, which was left at the scene, according to police.
Police initially described the boy as critically injured by the collision, which occurred around 11 a.m. local time Sunday. But later Sunday, police said his condition had stabilized.
Police have released the names of three persons of interest in the collision: Cory Munroe, 49, Derek Desousa, 34, and Amanda Rioux, 30. All three are from Toronto.
The hit and run took place at the intersection of Ellesmere Road and Pharmacy Avenue in Scarborough. City planners have recently moved to reduce the speed limit on this stretch of Ellesmere by 10 kilometres an hour.
Such reductions have been approved by city council for roadways across Toronto, all as part of a plan to better protect pedestrians that Mayor John Tory has branded Vision Zero.
But in a statement responding to the collision, Mr. Tory said that no amount of municipal planning can inoculate the public against “irresponsible and reckless” conduct.
“I fully support an increase in penalties for those involved in collisions with pedestrians and even steeper consequences for those who flee the scene,” Mr. Tory said.
His statement added that “criminal behaviour on our roads which ignores all safety measures must be dealt with aggressively, so the courts make clear there are consequences for these irresponsible and reckless actions.”
“We are working as a City to reduce collisions but drivers cannot act recklessly and must recognize they bear the ultimate responsibility because they are operating vehicles which can inflict such terrible consequences.”
At the intersection, a broken stroller lay in pieces as Toronto police Inspector Mandeep Mann told reporters that the victims were not crossing the street when they were hit.
The SUV “struck the two adults and the 20-month-old boy as they were standing on the south curb,” Insp. Mann said.
Shortly after the collision, police published an image of a man standing outside the shopping plaza near where the accident had occurred. He is being described as the passenger who fled.
Police say the SUV drove past a few stopped vehicles, and failed to stop for the red light at the intersection. Authorities say they are seeking more video footage and searching for a Dodge Journey SUV.
In May, a four-year-old boy was struck by a hit-and-run driver in Scarborough. That child suffered severe brain injuries, but survived. A motorcyclist was charged with the hit and run and his female passenger was charged for fleeing the scene.
In a speech early this year, Mr. Tory said that there were 41 pedestrian fatalities in Toronto in 2018 – 16 of them occurring in Scarborough.
Earlier this month, Toronto Councillor Brad Bradford told The Globe and Mail that there have been nearly 30 pedestrian deaths on city streets this year.
With files from The Canadian Press
Colin Freeze