Police have launched a mischief investigation after a car ended up precariously hanging off a Toronto bridge during the morning rush hour.
The dark-coloured vehicle, which was captured by the Global News chopper camera, appeared to be dangling from a cable just under the Leaside Bridge next to the Don Valley Parkway on Wednesday.
The video shows the car hanging just above a grassy area in the Lower Don Parklands.
Toronto police said the area below was cordoned off and the roads in the area remained open despite the visual distraction caused by the spectacle.
VIDEO: Emergency workers drop car suspended from Toronto bridge
Authorities had previously said the stunt was possibly part of a movie shoot but later said it was unauthorized. Police now believe the incident was intended as a prank.
“We had mutiple commuters call in that a car had been hanging from the Millwood Bridge,” Sgt. Glenn Russell said.
“We arrived on scene. From our sources at city hall and other sources, we’ve confirmed it was not a movie shoot.”
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Police said emergency crews attended the scene and did not deem the situation to be hazardous.
The vehicle, which had no windshield or windows, was cut down by fire crews around 10 a.m.
“With the help of Toronto Fire Services, we cut the car down and we just took it away on our flatbed to one of our units for forensic investigation,” Russell said.
“It’s a shell of a car. Pretty much the body and the frame.”
A spokesperson for the city’s economic development office told Global News a filming permit was not issued in regards to the dangling car.
“The City did not issue a filming permit for this. Please contact Toronto Police Services at 416-808-7091 for further information,” Shane Gerard said.
Toronto Mayor John Tory said he was in disbelief when he saw images of the car hanging off the bridge.
“You’d think if it was one of those film shoots, they are very carefully organized by the film shoot companies to get permissions and frankly to communicate the information so as to avoid people being worried about somebody being in a bad condition in that car or whatever,” Tory told reporters during a pothole event in Toronto Wednesday morning.
“If it’s something else, if it’s a prank, then obviously the law should apply to people who are doing things like that. So, we’ll have to see.”
There’s no word yet on who was responsible for the stunt and the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-5500 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS.
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