Star has bit more detail.
A 24-year-old female cyclist is dead after she was reportedly struck by the driver of a dump truck in downtown Toronto Thursday morning.
Toronto police said the incident occurred in the area of
Bloor Street West and Queen’s Park just before 8:50 a.m.
The cyclist was travelling westbound on Bloor Street in the bike lane before police say she left the lane, merging into the westbound vehicle lane, and was then allegedly struck by the truck driver who was also westbound.
She was pronounced dead, and the driver, 39, remained at the scene.
The incident marks the fifth cyclist death this year in Toronto, compared to only one in all of 2023, according to the city’s Vision Zero dashboard. More cyclists have died on Toronto’s streets this year than in the three previous years combined.
The city has seen 10 cyclists seriously injured so far this year, while 2023 saw 35 seriously injured in total.
In an update from Yorkville late Thursday morning, Toronto police Acting Duty Insp. Jason Bartlett said investigators are looking for witnesses who were in the area at the time of the incident.
When asked about concerns by cyclists over potential hazards posed by construction in the area, Bartlett said the ongoing road work is something officers are investigating as a possible factor.
JP Fontenelle was cycling to work when he came across the victim lying on the roadway and believed she was still alive at that time. He said he immediately stopped to see if he could help and learned someone already called 911.
“As I passed by I saw there was a lot of blood,” he said. “It didn’t look good.”
He said he saw a dumpster blocking a section of the bike lane, which he believes was connected to the road work in the area.
“Between 8 and 9 a.m. that region of the city is pretty busy … One of the problems there that I find is that Bloor Street is a little bit narrow and you still have parking. So there’s a lot of merging,” Fontenelle said.
He added that he frequently sees people parking in bike lanes in the area.
“You see that on many of the bigger roads in Toronto and I think it’s a problem. I don’t think it’s enforced properly. It’s hard to feel safe on the bike lane when cars and trucks … don’t respect the space of the bike lane,” Fontenelle said.
Fontenelle cycles to and from work regularly in the area but said he will now consider avoiding that route.
“I would be lying if I say that I’m fully relaxed and feel 100 per cent safe.”
The last death of a cyclist in Toronto occurred nearby, when a
39-year-old male e-bike rider was struck and killed by a truck driver on April 30 at Avenue Road and Elgin Avenue. It’s a particularly dangerous stretch of Avenue Road, between Davenport Road and Bloor Street, where three cyclists have been killed in the past nine years.
The city is in the midst of safety improvements to the stretch of Avenue Road, which includes separated bike lanes, increased pedestrian space and reduces car lanes from six to four. Installation of the bike lanes started in mid-July.
Road closures are in place due to the collision at Bloor Street West in both directions from Avenue Road to Bay Street.
Drivers are advised to avoid the area as police continue their investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Toronto police’s 53 Division at 416-808-5300.
A woman is dead after she was reportedly struck by the driver of a dump truck in the area of Bloor Street West and Queen’s Park Thursday morning.
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