Man critically injured after serious crash in Thornhill

Watch above: A seven car crash in Thornhill left eight people injured, including one critically. Mark Carcasole reports. 

TORONTO –A 21-year-old man was airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital Thursday morning in critical condition after a serious crash in Thornhill.

The crash happened at approximately 10 a.m. near the entrance of the Promenade Mall at Bathurst Street and Clark Avenue West.

Eight people were transported to hospital with varying levels of injury. Another was transported via Ornge Air Ambulance in critical condition.

The 21-year-old was also charged as a result of the accident.

Seven cars were involved in the accident, some were nearly torn apart, suffering major damage.

Melake Michael was driving southbound on Bathurst St. when the accident happened and said the driver had driven through a red light a few hundred metres before the accident scene.

“He went right through that red light with no hesitation, then when he approached this intersection, I could see that he was not going to stop,” Michael said while standing near the intersection of Bathurst St. and Clark Ave. “He went right through the cars that were stopped.”

“All I saw was a big cloud.”

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Jason Kim was on the other side of the intersection and said the driver appeared to be trying to “squeeze in between” two of the cars stopped at the red light.

“It was a red light. He smashed into the cars, he hit the Corolla, he hit everything there,” Kim said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was a red light. He smashed into the cars, he hit the Corolla, he hit everything there," Kim said.

Two of the seven cars involved slammed into a nearby hydro pole, leaving one stacked on top of the other.

The area is expected to be closed for several hours as police reconstruct the scene.