A 42-year-old mother of two has died after York Regional Police say she was struck by a vehicle before it crashed through a fence and drove off an elevated parking lot in Vaughan on Thursday.
Police said emergency crews responded to a call about a pedestrian struck just after 1:20 p.m. at a plaza on Keele Street, just south of Rutherford Road.
Sgt. Andy Pattenden told Global News the male driver of the vehicle is being transported to a hospital without vital signs after the collision. He was later pronounced dead. A female passenger was transported with non-life-threatening injuries. Police described both occupants as being elderly.
The pedestrian, who was later identified as Maria DeSimone, was pronounced dead on scene. DeSimone worked as a receptionist at a nearby furniture manufacturer and was out on her lunch break.
Her eldest son, Joey Mazzucco, attended the collision scene Thursday evening and paid tribute to his mother, telling reporters she was a “generous, spiritual person.”
“She was a beautiful woman. She worked hard every day to support me and my brother – such a loving, giving, generous person,” he said.
“It was just such a tragic, tragic accident … It doesn’t feel real.”
Mazzucco said he last spoke with his mother a couple of days ago said his fondest memory of her was when he was hospitalized at nine years old. He said he was diagnosed with bone and muscle cancer and he said his mother stayed by his side for a year.
“I will always remember my mother being by my side,” Mazzucco said.
“She was always going to work with a smile – no matter if it was a rough day or a rough situation going on, we’ve had a lot of those.”
Meanwhile, police said the investigation is ongoing. As of Thursday evening, it was not clear how or why the vehicle crashed through the fence and onto the roadway.