By CHRIS DOUCETTE

Scarborough, October 31, 2009 – A man watched in horror as his wife was struck by a car and killed as she rushed to catch a TTC bus in Scarborough on last week.

The couple began crossing together from the south to the north side of Finch Ave. E. at Blackbird Gt., just east of Nielson Rd., around 7:15 a.m., Toronto Police say. But the man hurried ahead to stop the bus.

He looked back just in time to see a Chevrolet Cavalier slam into his wife.

"She died on impact," Const. Hugh Smith of Traffic Services said of the 63-year-old Malvern woman, who smashed through the car's windshield and ended up virtually in the driver's lap.

Smith said it was dark at the time and the roads were wet, both of which are believed to be factors in the pedestrian's death. There is also no traffic light at the intersection and Finch was recently widened from two to four lanes, making more of a challenge for people to walk across to the bus stop, he said.

No charges are expected to be laid.

After the accident, the woman's husband was comforted by family and fellow members of the area's Somali community, Smith said.

He said the man driving the car and the bus driver, who also witnessed the fatality, were both in shock as well.

The victim lived near the scene, Smith said. Her name was not immediately released.

She is the 36th person to die on city streets so far this year and the fifth fatality since Sunday. A section of Finch was closed throughout the morning as investigators re-constructed the collision.

Smith said traffic accidents have been on the rise recently and he urged both motorists and pedestrians to be careful.

"A lot of it has to do with the time of year," he said. "It's staying darker longer."

CHRIS.DOUCETTE@SUNMEDIA.CA

Source: Toronto Sun, Sunday, Oct 24, 2009

Home | Contact us | Links | Archives | Search