A fatal hit-and-run that occurred in downtown Toronto last night is now a homicide investigation.
At around 6 p.m. Monday, a 27-year-old man was struck by a blue Dodge Caravan on George Street just south of Gerrard Street.
Police said the vehicle was travelling north on George Street at a high rate of speed when it veered onto the sidewalk and deliberately struck a man. The vehicle then fled the scene.
The man, identified by police as Steven Doyle, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The vehicle believed to be involved in the collision was located a short time later. Police said the driver likely fled the area on foot.
In a phone interview with CTV Toronto Tuesday, Doyle’s father said his son had been trying to “straighten out his life” over the past few years.
“Steven was no innocent, OK, he had a criminal record,” Russell Doyle Sr. said. “He’d done some things in the past he was not proud of. But one thing he was proud of was his two babies, OK? And he wanted to show them better.”
A witness at the scene said an altercation over drugs took place between Doyle and the driver prior to the collision, though police have not confirmed that information. The investigation was turned over to homicide investigators Tuesday morning.
"From what I saw, the driver of the thing (vehicle) was trying to make a drug buy,” one witness told CP24 at the scene. “Steve-O took his money and wasn’t giving back the dope and the guy took off after Steve-O. The next thing you know, he went for the car and ran him right over.”
Kevin Lee, who told CTV Toronto he had been friends with Doyle for ten years, said he was with Doyle's brother when they heard the news of his death Monday night.
"He’s a victim of this. Regardless of the altercation or whether he was involved in a robbery or illicit activity, nobody deserves this,” he said.
“If he did do something like this altercation – get out of your car and fight a man. How is a man going to stand a chance against a 3000 pound vehicle?" Lee said. "To the man who is out there, you’re a coward.”
Police are searching for a suspect described as a South Asian male in his late 20s who is between five-foot-eight and five-foot-ten. He has a slim-to-medium build and dark brown, shoulder-length hair tied in a long ponytail. He was last seen wearing a dark shirt and prescription glasses with rectangular frames.
The area surrounding Gerrard and George streets was closed overnight as police probed the scene. All roads have since reopened.
Anyone with information about the incident is being asked to call police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
