Toronto police are looking to speak with the family members of a 58-year-old woman who was fatally struck by a garbage truck in a downtown alleyway earlier this week.
Police said the incident happened on Tuesday just before 6 a.m. on University Avenue south of Adelaide Street West.
Authorities said a garbage truck driven by a 19-year-old man was reversing when it struck a woman believed to be sleeping in the alleyway. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
A building operator told Global News on Tuesday that the woman had been in the area the past two weeks.
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“This person here, they couldn’t speak English or understand English,” Daniel Gareau said.
“We try to wake them up. Usually, they do get up. Some understand English, and they’ll pack up their stuff and move somewhere else. This person, we had some trouble trying to explain to them to move out.”
Gareau said the person was sleeping on a grate for warmth.
“It’s a grid for the steam, and there’s warm air that comes out of there,” he said.
Police said they have been unable to locate the victim’s next of kin and are seeking the public’s help.
The woman, identified as Hang Vo, is described five feet six inches tall and weighed 120 pounds. She is known to frequent various shelters in Toronto.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-1900 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).