Woman killed in downtown Toronto was a familiar face to many

Her name was Christine.

She was 59, homeless and in a wheelchair.

A familiar face, Christine, who was a native, often got started at busy intersections in downtown Toronto.

Christine died on November 18 after being hit by a cement truck driven by a 56-year-old near the streets of Sherbourne and Dunda, Toronto police said in a news release on November 23.

They also appeal to anyone who has seen it, including anyone with video recordings of the area or incident, to contact them.

At the time of the incident, which happened around 10 a.m., several people were nearby and saw what was happening. Their trauma was exacerbated as it took hours to remove the woman’s body from under the vehicle, social worker Sarah Ovens told toronto.com.

Ovens and her colleagues at All Saints Church and Community Center were unloading food from a truck at the time of the crash.

“This is not the first fatal pedestrian collision I’ve seen in my time (at All Saints),” said Ovens, who five years ago unsuccessfully advocated making the Sherbourne-Dunda crossing safer for vulnerable road users.

“(My efforts) never went anywhere,” she said, adding that many motorists do not take into account the number of pedestrians going in and out of traffic at that intersection.

She said more signage, lowering the speed limit and installing lane dividers are simple solutions that would make a big difference.

Toronto Center MPP Suze Morrison agreed, adding that more needs to be done to “ensure that all vulnerable road users are safe in our city.”

In a statement on November 18, she pointed to the law on vulnerable road users, which calls for tougher penalties for driving offenses that result in death or serious injury to vulnerable road users. That day, her colleagues, MPPs Jessica Bell, Bhutila Karpoche and Doly Begum, resubmitted the law.

“Today’s tragic event highlights how urgently we need action for road safety in our communities. These preventable tragedies should never happen on our streets,” Morrison said.

local county councils. Kristyn Wong-Tam said she was “deeply saddened” by the loss of her voter, one she said was “well known by neighbors, community leaders and service providers in Downtown East.”

She said the intersection has long been on her radar as it poses “significant safety risks to pedestrians in the area.”

The Toronto Center representative also said that the “significant homeless population” who live in shelters or use services in that area on a daily basis need more help, especially more affordable and supportive housing.

“We have seen for years that they pose an additional risk of vehicle damage if left to themselves without sustained and appropriate social support,” Wong-Tam said in a statement on November 18, pointing to her resuscitation plan. for the Sherbourne-Dunda neighborhood.

“We know this will increase the ability of structurally vulnerable and marginalized individuals to access healthy and appropriate homes.”

She also said with increasing fatalities for pedestrians across Toronto that the city’s Vision Zero initiative should be a priority.

“We must continue to invest all available resources to address road safety issues and understand how other structural inequalities affect road safety for different communities, particularly in the Downtown East,” Wong-Tam wrote.

“Today, we ourselves have seen the tragic result when these systemic barriers are not resolved.”

Those working to support low-income and homeless people say access to decent, affordable housing and adequate support will ensure people do not have to risk their lives panhandling to survive.

The day after Christine’s death, Diana Chan McNally of the Toronto Drop-In Network and street nurse Roxie Danielson took to Twitter to share their thoughts.

A few hours after the fatal collision, a minister from the Toronto Urban Native Ministry came by to make a smear.

Discussions are also underway on a memorial / health circle in early December.

Anyone with information should contact police at 416-808-1900 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.222tips.com.

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