Boy suffers ‘catastrophic’ head injury climbing on moving Toronto subway train

A boy has reportedly been rushed to hospital after he struck his head climbing on a moving subway train in Toronto.

At around 6:15 p.m. on Monday, emergency services were called to Toronto’s Warden subway station.

Toronto police said they received reports a boy had tried to climb onto a subway train while it was moving. He struck his head and was rushed to hospital, according to a tweet from Toronto police.

Speaking at the scene, Insp. Michael Hayles said the injury was discovered once an alarm was triggered on a westbound train after it stopped at Warden station.

Police originally said the boy was 16 but clarified his age to 15 in an update on Tuesday.

The boy was originally in life-threatening condition but was upgraded to stable in hospital. On Tuesday, police said he “remains in critical condition.”

The boy suffered a “catastrophic” head injury, Hayles said.

Eyewitnesses told police the boy was trying to climb from the inside of the train onto its roof as it arrived in the station. Hayles said it was not clear how the boy made it onto the outside of the train, but police believe that is where he was when he was injured.

In an update on Tuesday, Toronto police said the boy had opened the door between carriages to get outside the train as it moved.

The injury was likely caused by something in the tunnel, Hayles said. No other subway trains were involved.

Hayles said the train was travelling at a “significant speed” when the boy was injured.

It is unclear why the boy was trying to climb onto the roof of the train. Hayles said police did not believe he was trying to escape from a crime, nor had an altercation been reported.

Subway trains on the TTC’s Bloor-Danforth line were not running eastbound from Victoria Park, according to police. Shuttle buses were deployed to take passengers along the eastern portion of the route.