An 11-year-old girl was sent to hospital with serious injuries on April 18 after what appeared to be an attempt to catch a bus on Bathurst Street south of Sheppard Avenue.
Police said she was stopped on a pedestrian safety barrier that divides northbound and southbound traffic when she stepped off and walked past a stopped bus only to be struck by another Toronto Transit Commission bus travelling in the passing lane.
“Our hearts go out to the little girl,” said Danny Nicholson, TTC spokesperson. Constable Hugh Smith, spokesperson for Toronto Police Traffic Services, said the driver is not at fault. “The driver couldn’t stop, there was no real area to manoeuvre,” he said. “All in all, it’s just a tragic set of circumstances.”
While there were several vehicle-related pedestrian deaths earlier this year, Smith said that recently there have been fewer pedestrian accidents. However, he did say the Bathurst and Sheppard area is a danger spot.
“You have these main roads going through these communities, and everyone wants school and commercial places nearby that they can walk to,” he said. “It’s a matter of communities saying, if you want things slowed down … then you have to avoid the main road and go further to do your grocery shopping.”
Smith said it is also important children learn about local traffic.