Separate collisions in the Greater Toronto Area claimed the lives of two pedestrians and injured several others on Thursday.
The most recent fatality occurred at about 6:50 a.m., when a female pedestrian was struck by two vehicles on Lawrence Avenue West near Dufferin Street, in the city’s north end.
Police said the victim was trying to cross Lawrence Avenue West when she was struck by a vehicle travelling west in a passing lane. She was then hit again by an eastbound car.
Passing motorists drove past the woman rather than stopping to help, police said.
Rainy weather conditions and low visibility due to the time of day may have factored into the incident, Const. Clint Stibbe of Toronto police’s Traffic Services unit said Thursday.
Friends have identified the victim as Neiky Pardo, a medical laboratory assistant who moved to Canada from Cuba 10 years ago. She was married and had a young daughter.
“It's a horrific thing,” Pardo’s best friend, Alisa Blumenthal, told CTV Toronto. “It's a life ended way too short and she struggled so much for everything and this is her pay back. This is sick."
“She's my best friend, everything, my confidante, everything. It's awful, awful.”
Male pedestrian killed in Richmond Hill
Further north, Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after a now-deceased pedestrian was hit by at least two vehicles in Richmond Hill -- one of them a police cruiser.
Police received a call at about 3:30 a.m. from a driver who said that they hit a pedestrian with their car while travelling on Yonge Street, near Stouffville Road.
Investigators, however, are looking into the possibility that the man was struck by another civilian vehicle that fled the scene. Police are searching for a Mercedes SUV in connection with the incident.
According to Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, the pedestrian had been struck by at least two civilian vehicles when he was hit again by a York Regional Police cruiser responding to the scene.
The exact time of the man’s death is not yet known. The SIU are looking into the case, along with York Regional Police investigators.
Pedestrians injured in separate T.O. collisions
Later Thursday morning, paramedics said a 40-year-old woman was hit by a vehicle near Staines Road and Seasons Drive in the city’s east end.
The woman was unconscious but breathing when emergency responders arrived, police said.
She was transported to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Her injuries are considered serious, according to Toronto Emergency Medical Services.
And police said a man suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries in a collision on Eglinton Avenue West, just west of Bathurst Street.
Just south of there, another pedestrian was hit -- this time by a taxi -- on Bay Street near Elm.
The male victim suffered injuries to his leg. Police said they do not expect to lay charges.
Thursday afternoon, a woman and two children were struck by a vehicle on St. Clair Avenue, just east of Bathurst Street.
All three were taken to hospital with minor injuries, police said. The driver of the vehicle remained on the scene.
In Vaughan, a woman was injured in a hit-and-run at Broomlands Drive Whitefaulds Road around 6:30 p.m. She suffered non-life threatening injuries and was treated in hospital. Police are still looking for the driver of the suspect vehicle.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Janice Golding
