A five-year-old girl is dead after she became pinned between two vehicles while being picked up from a Downsview area elementary school.
According to Toronto police, the child had just been picked up from St. Raphael Catholic School on Gade Drive, near Keele Street, at around 4 p.m. by her father when she was hit.
“The victim was getting into a Mercedes Benz and the Kia was engaged in gear somehow and came on its own, without a driver in it, and pinned her between the two vehicles while she was getting in,” Sgt. Duncan Miller told CP24 from the scene.
He said the Kia had been parked somewhere on Ianhall Road by a parent who was picking up their own child when it started rolling down the street.
“We haven’t spoken to the driver yet right now we’re trying to get all evidence we can before we lose any of it to the snow that’s coming down right now,” Miller said.
Sarina Scarmozzino, the principal of St. Raphael Catholic School, confirmed with CP24 that the child was in senior kindergarten at the school.
A spokesperson for the Toronto Catholic District School Board, Emmy Milne, said parents often stop on Ianhall Road to pick up or drop off their children, calling it a "high traffic area."
Paramedics rushed the child to Sick Kids Hospital with critical injuries where she later died.
In a statement, the TCDSB said a team of counsellors will be at the school beginning on Tuesday to help anyone in need.
“Tragedies such as this can be difficult for anyone to accept or understand, particularly for young people,” the statement said. “This tragic loss is one that is felt by all of us at the Toronto Catholic District School Board. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time.”
A memorial will be held at the school to honour the young girl, the TCDSB said.
Roads in the vicinity of the school were closed while they officers gathered evidence.
