Young girl in critical condition after being struck by car in Junction: police

A young girl is in hospital in critical condition after being struck by the driver of an SUV in the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto on Wednesday afternoon.

Toronto police said they were called to the intersection of Dundas Street West and High Park Avenue just before 4:30 p.m. for a collision.

Duty Insp. Peter Wehby said a vehicle travelling west hit a girl under the age of 10 in the crosswalk at the intersection.

When emergency crews arrived, they located the girl with serious injuries. She was rushed to the Hospital for Sick Children, where she remains in life-threatening condition.

Police said the driver remained on scene.

"At this time, I can't speak to charges. But what I can tell you is that we are investigating it," said Wehby, adding that police had obtained some witness videos.

Anant Singh, who owns a business in the area, said he heard a horrible noise and then saw a child fly "a fair distance."

When he rushed outside, he saw people coming to the aid of a girl.

"She was semi-conscious. Her arms were moving a little bit, and she was starting to bleed from her head," Singh said.

He said he later checked his store's security camera to see what happened. Singh said the child was with an adult and another child at the time of the incident.

"We saw how they were standing on the sidewalk. And this child was playfully dancing, and she just darted into that crosswalk, and this car that was coming on Dundas driving west hit her pretty hard," he said.

"The car did try to avoid her, but the right headlamp area got her and the impact was pretty loud."

Police are asking anyone with information to contact traffic services or Crime Stoppers anonymously.