Police released new details Friday into the 2009 hit-and-run death of a Toronto man, saying they are making “significant progress” in the investigation as they track down those responsible.
Speaking at a news conference at Toronto Police headquarters, Det. Sgt. Stacy Gallant said police have identified the make, model, year range and colour scheme of the SUV that struck and killed Christopher Skinner, 27, on a downtown street as he attempted to hail a cab four years ago, on Oct. 18, 2009.
There have been no arrests since Skinner was struck and killed on Adelaide Street, near Victoria Street.
Investigators have previously said that they believe Skinner, who was hailing a cab after leaving his sister’s birthday party, have may inadvertently come in contact with the SUV as he stood in the roadway.
The SUV stopped, and a group of men got out and assaulted Skinner before getting back inside the SUV, police allege.
Gallant said the driver “without hesitation” deliberately ran over Skinner as he lay on the ground.
The SUV then sped off eastbound on Adelaide, police say.
Police on Friday also released a new image showing the SUV travelling on Adelaide Street toward Yonge Street just prior to the confrontation with Skinner.
“The investigative team is identifying through various databases, the potential owners of vehicles in 2009, which in turn will lead us to the driver of this vehicle, those that were involved in the beating, and any other passengers, male or female, that were in the vehicle that night,” Gallant said.
Toronto Police have posted a reward of $50,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of those responsible for Skinner’s death. His family has raised an additional $100,000 in reward money.
Each year since his death, Skinner’s family has appealed for information to help solve the case, turning last year to social media to ramp up search efforts.
Skinner’s family, who attended the news conference, expressed disappointment that the case remains unsolved four years later.
“We said that we weren’t coming back and I really thought we weren’t,” an emotional Taryn Skinner told reporters. “And now we are and we will keep coming back.”
But police say they are making progress in finding those who are responsible for Skinner’s death.
“We have to stay on top of it … so that anyone who thinks that they can get away with something in the city will know that we are looking for them always,” Gallant told reporters.
