Saturday, January 16, 2010

Traffic Deaths for the beginning of the Year



Keep Eyes on the Road: Cops

Police urge caution after deadly week on the road

Drivers in the GTA need to snap out of cruise control and use their eyes instead of relying on the gadgets in their cars, police are saying in the wake of a rash of accidents in the past week that killed pedestrians.

“What’s happened in just a few days shows us what’s going on, and we really do not want to continue in this path,” said Const. Hugh Smith, of traffic services.

Thursday morning, a 25-year-old woman was pronounced dead at Steeles Avenue West and Hurontario Road in Brampton after a transit bus hit her.

Tuesday in Vaughan, Steven Seixeiro, 17, was hit by a semi-trailer turning the corner at Rutherford Road and Keele Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hours later, Vaughan resident Nouhad-Nicolas Al-Kassouf, 80, was struck by a car while crossing at Roncesvalles Avenue and Dundas Street West. Her head hit the pavement. She died in hospital Wednesday morning.

But Smith said the death of 28-year-old mother Marites Mendoza Tuesday “scared everybody.”

Mendoza was pushing her seven-week-old son in a stroller when a car allegedly ran a red light and hit her while she was crossing Martin Grove Road at Eglinton Avenue West. Mendoza managed to push her baby out of harm’s way, but was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Highlighted Below are more on the victims in this article.
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Woman struck and killed by Brampton Transit bus
A woman is dead after she was struck and killed by a bus in Brampton Thursday morning.
Police say the pedestrian was hit while crossing the bus loop off Steeles Avenue, just west of Hurontario Street at about 6:30 a.m.
Nobody aboard the transit bus was injured and a major accident reconstruction unit was called to investigate, police say.
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'Great kid' among four pedestrians killed or injured

Steven Seixeiro was a studious and ambitious student en route to Vaughan's St. Joan of Arc Catholic High School when the 17-year-old became the first of four pedestrians to be killed or seriously injured in a day that kept traffic officers busy across the GTA.
The Grade 12 student was changing buses at Rutherford Rd. and Keele St. around 9 a.m. As he crossed Keele, a semi-trailer came up from behind and ran him over as it made a right turn. Seixeiro was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Tuesday evening, Seixeiro's family remembered him for his sociable, peaceful demeanour, as well as his love of computers.
"He just got along with everybody, he was never an argumentative kind of guy," said his sister, Jennifer, 24. "He was doing really well in school – the teacher gave him a certificate of excellence."
His godfather, Fernando Abade, said the computer-savvy teen often used Twitter, and was also interested in music and played the guitar.
He said Seixeiro considered taking computer engineering at university.
"He was a great kid, always stayed out of trouble," said Abade, adding his godson never missed school.
Police closed the intersection at Rutherford and Keele for about six hours as they reconstructed the crash and gathered evidence. Detectives are still trying to figure out who had the right of way.
Officers have not decided whether to charge the driver of the truck, a 29-year-old Brantford man.
Within a few hours, a 28-year-old woman had been killed crossing the street in Etobicoke and an 80-year-old woman suffered serious head injuries after she was hit by a car at Roncesvalles Ave. and Dundas St. W. Another elderly woman suffered a broken leg when she was struck at Cedar Dr. and Eglinton Ave. E.
Const. Hugh Smith, a Toronto traffic officer, speculated that the unusual number of serious accidents on Tuesday may be related to the nice weather. "Here you finally have a nice, sunnier day, when it's okay to go for a walk," he said.
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Woman, 80, dies from injuries after car hits her

An 80-year-old woman who was hit by a car in Roncesvalles Village Tuesday has died in hospital, becoming the third injured pedestrian to die in the GTA in just over 24 hours.
Nouhad-Nicolas Al-Kassouf, a resident of Vaughan, was walking west across the y-shaped intersection of Roncesvalles Ave. and Dundas St. W. shortly after 1 p.m. with her 42-year-old son, Najou Kassouf.
A southbound van rounded the corner to head east onto Dundas and hit the pair, police said. The elderly woman was thrown to the ground, where she hit her head and lost consciousness.
Her son hurt his wrist and his back. Both were taken to hospital.
Najou was treated and released. Nouhad-Nicolas was stabilized and kept breathing as she was treated, raising initial hopes that she might recover, but she died Wednesday morning shortly before 11 a.m.
The van that hit the pair had a green arrow and the right of way at the time of the crash, police said.
The spot where the woman was hit is a popular route for people to cross the intersection, but a sign clearly warns pedestrians against it, telling them to take a lengthier route to the south that involves using two separate crosswalks, said Const. Hugh Smith, a Toronto traffic officer.
He said it was unlikely that the driver of the van, a 20-year-old man, would be charged.
The woman was one of three pedestrians to be killed on streets in the GTA Tuesday.
Around 9 a.m., Steven Seixeiro, 17, was on his way to school in Vaughan when he was hit by a semi-trailer turning the corner at Rutherford Rd. and Keele St. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Around 1 p.m., Marites Mendoza, 31, was crossing Martin Grove Rd. at Eglinton Ave. W., pushing her 7-week-old son in a stroller in front of her, when a Toyota Camry allegedly ran a red light and hit her.
She died at the scene. Police have not said whether they will charge the driver of the Camry, an 83-year-old woman.
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No criminal charge for elderly motorist who allegedly ran down mother pushing stroller: police

Posted: January 15, 2010, 12:11 PM by Rob Roberts
By Alana Power, National Post

The 83-year-old motorist who allegedly killed a mother pushing her baby in a stroller Tuesday is not likely to face criminal charges, Toronto police said today.

Edith Lucille Jones was driving north on Martin Grove Rd. when she ran a red light at Eglinton Avenue West, dragging Marites Mendoza, 31, under her car. Ms. Mendoza is presumed to have pushed the stroller out of harm’s way, saving her infant son.

That son, and reportedly a second Mendoza child, are now in the custody of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto.

Const. Hugh Smith said charges will likely be laid under the Highway Traffic Act, possibly failing to stop at a red light, or careless driving. Ms. Jones faces a fine and up to six demerit points on her licence.

“We have to look at all the circumstances,” said Const. Smith. “What we know we have is failing to stop at a red light. It may go dangerous in the next week, but that is not the information that I have.”

While not criminal, these charges should not be taken lightly, said Const. Smith, of Traffic Services: “Careless is quite a hard charge for driving.’’

For the charges to be criminal, police would have to prove intent, he said. Investigators are still talking to witnesses who were driving through the intersection when the accident occurred and speaking with a Crown prosecutor.

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