Teenage boy, 16, dies after being struck by multiple vehicles in Vaughan

A 16-year-old boy has been pronounced dead after being struck by multiple vehicles in Vaughan.

The boy was struck at Weston Road and Villa Royale Avenue, south of Major MacKenzie Drive, shortly before 7:30 a.m.

York Regional Police said they believe the boy was struck by at least two vehicles.

He was rushed to a trauma centre with life-threatening injuries, but was pronounced dead a short time later.

The vehicles involved remained at the scene, police said.

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In an interview with CTV News Toronto, Const. Lisa Moskaluk said the investigation is still in its early stages and police are working to figure out exactly what happened.

"I don't know if he was crossing at an intersection, if he was jaywalking, all of that will obviously come through the investigation," she said. "Our major collision investigators are at the scene, our traffic reconstruction unit is there reconstructing the scene to try and get a better picture of what exactly happened, and also by speaking to homeowners in the area."

Moskaluk said youth engagement officers would be available at the boy's school to provide support for students and staff.

"Obviously this is something that would affect everybody," she said. "It's a horrible thing to happen first thing in the morning, and to someone so young as well."

Support staff are also being made available to the boy's family and to first responders as well, she said.

The victim has not been identified, but the incident has left his group of friends shaken.

"He was an amazing person, an amazing friend, a great son. He's honestly the best friend I could ask for," Pierce Luu told CTV News Toronto Thursday night.

"He's just really funny and to be honest, me and him were really close. We played games together, studied together, we had a lot of fun."

Botan Kaya, another friend of the victim, said his heart dropped when he saw the news.

"We all just broke down, we couldn't believe it. And we still can't process it now that he's gone from us," Kaya said. "We just want to wake up tomorrow like it's a bad nightmare."

 He noted that the intersection was often dicey.

"It's not even 10 seconds to allow you to cross, and if you hesitate, even in the crosswalk, you're gonna get caught in that heat," Kaya said.

Police are appealing to anyone with information or video from the area to come forward to investigators.

"It is very important that anyone who may have driven past the scene and not realized what happened – people get in their own heads on their way to work in the morning – a lot of people have dashcam footage so we are hoping that those people that haven't spoken to investigators yet do come forward," Moskaluk said.

Weston Road was closed between Maria Antonia Road and Davos Road/Ashberry Boulevard as police investigate.

With files from Siobhan Morris