Rishav Panda | Contributor
Featured Image: Fatal collisions are all too common on Sentinel Road, like the one that claimed the life of a York student in 2017. | Basma Elbahnasawy/Excalibur Publications
A female pedestrian was recently hit by a vehicle near York’s Keele campus.
According to police reports, the vehicle struck the pedestrian at 7:45 a.m. on September 10 near the intersection of Four Winds Drive and Sentinel Road. The victim is stated to be in her 50s and was rushed to the hospital by paramedics. Police reports indicate the victim has sustained serious injuries.
The tragic incident follows a similar collision that occurred last year involving a York student. Julia Baciu, 21, was struck by Seyed Yeshar Tolouei on August 19, 2018 around 9:30 p.m.
Tolouei was reported to be going nearly three times the speed limit. Tolouei was recently sentenced to five years and nine months in jail for criminal negligence causing death.
There are many cases of reckless driving, vehicle collisions, and impaired driving. Though this event itself was not on York’s campus, it begs the question of what is being done to keep York community members safe from reckless drivers.
To help students and pedestrians in general, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) have tips on pedestrian safety.
According to the safety tips on their website: “It is up to both drivers and pedestrians to keep everyone safe on Toronto roads. Pedestrians should always attempt to make eye contact with oncoming drivers and cyclists before proceeding across their path, especially vehicles that are intending to turn.”
Many York students are concerned with the number of collisions near the area.
“Drivers around this area are often not very concerned with the safety of other drivers or pedestrians; they are often in a hurry to exit the area,” says third-year engineering student Jia Hao Xu.
“For example, the region where you exit the Second Student Centre and cross into the Quad, I’ve often seen drivers turn right at red lights, without appropriately slowing down and look for pedestrians and just turn even though the pedestrians crossing are only a foot away,” Xu adds.
When asked for an improvement to lower traffic collisions, Xu says to fix the lights from the intersection between the Victor Dahdeleh building and the Quad.
“It’s been a hazard for pedestrians as drivers take advantage of the situation and decide to not treat it as a four way stop, which they should as dictated by the law,” Xu says.
If any student witnesses a vehicle collision, they are encouraged to report to a Collision Reporting Centre. The Centre is stated to be “a facility which was created to help motorists and pedestrians report vehicle collisions which they have been involved in.” The North York Collision Reporting Centre is located on 113 Toryork Drive, and their phone number is (416)-745-1600.
