Pedestrian dead, 2 others injured after 3 separate collisions in Scarborough

Toronto police say a pedestrian has died and two others have been injured after three separate collisions in Scarborough.

Just after 8:20 p.m., Toronto police posted on Twitter that a pedestrian was struck by a car on Howden Road, north of Lawrence Avenue East and west of Birchmount Road.

Police said the injuries were “reported to be serious” and that officers had to perform CPR. A spokesperson later said Toronto Paramedics took the victim to hospital, but that they later died from their injuries.

Investigators taped off a large area in front of, and at, the Toronto police and OPP collision reporting centre on Howden Road.

Less than 10 minutes later, officers tweeted that a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle near the intersection of McCowan Road and McNicoll Avenue. Police and Paramedics later said the victim, a woman in her 60s, was taken to hospital in serious condition with head injuries.

Just after 9 p.m., police said on Twitter that a pedestrian reportedly sustained “serious injuries” after being struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Orton Park and Ellesmere roads. They too were taken to hospital by paramedics.

It’s not clear what, if any, charges will be laid in connection with the three incidents. Police shut down parts of the affected roads in order to gather evidence. The circumstances leading up to the collisions was not clear as of Wednesday night.

The collisions come amid continued concerns about pedestrian safety in Toronto. Toronto city council has moved to make improvements to its Vision Zero traffic plans, but advocates have called for more action to be taken.

During an unrelated news conference Wednesday evening, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said 50 pedestrians in 2019 have succumbed to injuries after being hit by vehicles.

“We’re making our efforts to see what we can do to reduce those numbers, working with the City and other agencies,” he said.

“We always ask people to be vigilant and to pay attention when you’re on the roadway whether as a pedestrian, or in their vehicle, or riding a bike or a scooter or whatever you’re on. The city streets are so much more congested than they were in the years before.”