Toronto has suffered a second serious pedestrian-vehicle accident in a week that's been devoted to promoting pedestrian safety.
"It's two days into the campaign and already we've had a fatality yesterday and a serious collision today," Const. Mig Roberts told ctvtoronto.ca on Wednesday.
The Toronto Police Service launched Operation Be Seen on Monday, an attempt to crack down on motorists, cyclists and pedestrians "commit offences in the vicinity of pedestrian crossovers, crosswalks, mid-block and intersections," it said in a news release.
The latest accident at lunchtime near Eglinton Avenue and Keele Street.
A 12-year-old girl had darted across Eglinton in the middle of the block, moving from south to north when the westbound car struck her, Roberts said.
She has been taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries including:
- A fractured arm
- Head lacerations
- Bruises to her back
The impact left the car's windshield severely damaged and the driver "visibly shaken up," Roberts said. "As you can appreciate, that's not something you expect when you're going from Point A to Point B."
Roberts said police wanted to emphasize that people should "not cross at mid-block. Use a controlled intersection. It's much safer to do that."
However, the fatality on Tuesday involved a 59-year-old woman crossing at the lights when a school bus struck her, making her Toronto's 26th traffic fatality of the year.
"That is still under investigation," Roberts said.
