Victim identified in fatal hit-and-run on the Danforth that is now considered a homicide
Toronto police have identified the victim of a fatal hit-and-run on the Danforth early Sunday morning, which police say is now being treated as a homicide.
The collision happened shortly before 4 a.m. near Danforth and Cedarvale avenues, just east of Woodbine Avenue.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Toronto police were called to the scene for reports of a person that had been struck by a vehicle.
Speaking with reporters at the scene, Duty Insp. Ryan Forde said the victim was standing near the sidewalk when they were hit.
The driver reportedly fled the scene westbound on Danforth Avenue in a dark-coloured SUV. The vehicle’s make or model are unknown at this time, Forde said.
The victim was taken to St. Michael’s Hospital at about 4:30 a.m. with life-threatening injuries. He was pronounced dead there a short time later.
The victim has been identified as 25-year-old Gabriel del Castillo Mullally, of Toronto.
Natasha Bilak witnessed the incident and told CP24 that she heard yelling outside of her nearby residence just before the pedestrian was struck.
She said, at that time, there was an altercation between a group of young adults and a man who she believes is in his late 20s or early 30s.
“There was a dispute which ended up with the man getting into his car and deliberately driving [his vehicle] into the crowd of young adults. They were able to get out of the way,” Bilak said.
She said the driver then made a U-turn on Danforth Avenue and drove towards the group a second time.
“He had seen a gap and basically hopped up on the curb [in his vehicle] and hit the one man,” she said, adding that screams from the group followed shortly after.
A homicide investigation is underway after a pedestrian was struck and killed on the Danforth on Jan. 5, 2023.
“I’ve never witnessed something like that before. It’s definitely really scary,” she said.
Bilak went on to say that she and her husband witnessed the driver attempt to enter the Rusty Nail Pub before the altercation unfolded. The pub was the site of a stabbing last summer that left a victim with serious injuries.
Beaches-East York Coun. Brad Bradford said the incident has shaken the community.
“(There’s) lots more questions that are need to be answered. And for the moment, a community that's just reeling with the impacts of violence and undermining our security and confidence here in the neighbourhood,” he said Sunday afternoon.
The Ward 19 representative noted that police are in the process of doing a thorough investigation to determine what exactly happened.
Toronto police are appealing to witnesses or anyone with video of the incident or area to come forward.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Toronto police at 416-808-5500 or 416-808-7400, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477 (TIPS) or www.222tips.com.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.