An adult female pedestrian has been pronounced dead after she was struck by a truck downtown on Wednesday morning.
At around 9 a.m., emergency crews were called to the area of Victoria and Queen streets for reports of a collision involving a pedestrian and a commercial vehicle.
“What we have is a commercial vehicle travelling south on Victoria Street,” Sgt. Brett Moore told reporters at the scene shortly after the crash. “The truck, the driver involved is cooperating.”
The woman was struck right outside of St. Michael’s Hospital, one of Toronto’s trauma centres. She was transported to the trauma centre before she was pronounced dead.
Maria Nunes was on the sidewalk moments after the woman was hit, watching as the situation unfolded.
“I saw a whole bunch of people giving her CPR. I didn’t know if it was a man or a woman, because I couldn’t see from where I was. But I saw there was a guy with a backpack giving CPR.”
Nunes also saw the truck driver, who she said looked very distressed.
“He got out of the truck, he was on the phone. At first I think he was yelling, and yeah, he was in shock, I think.”
A tattered red blanket, a white sheet and a pair of dark blue paramedic gloves lay inside the police perimeter. Officers spent about four hours examining the truck and canvassing the area for surveillance camera video.
“This is an extremely developed area of Toronto, so that’s going to be part of the investigation; speed, colour of lights, road conditions, all those things are in play,” said Sgt. Brett Moore from Traffic Services.
People familiar with the area told CTV News Toronto that they believe the victim is a homeless woman who sleeps on a grate near the intersection and is frequently seen asking for change on one of the corners.
Police have yet to identify the victim and no information has been provided regarding possible charges.
Moore said that investigators are asking members of the public with surveillance or dashboard camera video to come forward.
“Video is great because it really paints a vivid picture that is impartial and it really helps our investigators piece things together.”
Roads were blocked off in the area as an investigation was conducted but have since reopened.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact investigators or Crime Stoppers.
