‘I can’t tell you how lucky I feel’
Former Kitchener resident, Charlottetown Festival star was a near-miss in Toronto van attack
TORONTO — A.J. Bridel was spared by just minutes.
The former Kitchener resident and Charlottetown Festival star was out getting lunch at the corner of Yonge Street and Poyntz Avenue in Toronto early Monday afternoon when the unthinkable happened.
What began as a quest for a vegetarian taco turned into something she will remember for the rest of her life.
Bridel was spared by just minutes from a van attack on pedestrians that left 10 dead and 14 injured along Yonge Street in North York just after 1 p.m. Monday afternoon.
The stage actress, a grad of the K-W Musical Productions and Drayton Entertainment stage, who has a condo near the corner of Yonge Street and Park Home Avenue, decided to go for a walk to grab some food on Monday around 1 p.m.
“I thought to myself, ‘This is a beautiful day, I should go for a walk,’ ” said Bridel.
Bridel walked south from Park Home on Yonge Street and nearly stopped in front of Mel Lastman Square, near Hillcrest Avenue. Bridel, being vegetarian, waited in line in front of a taco stand to see if they had a meat-free option, but out of impatience, she decided to continue walking south.
Bridel was at the corner of Yonge and Poyntz when she heard panic behind her and saw a white van drive over the sidewalk and turn west onto Poyntz.
She “... saw the white van drive over the sidewalk about 20 feet in front of me and turn right.”
The van had driven up on the sidewalk and for some reason, got off behind Bridel, before hopping the curb again and turning right on Poyntz Avenue.
“Honestly, the van got off the sidewalk exactly where I hap-
pened to be walking at that moment.”
Bridel followed the van and saw a Toronto police officer, at gunpoint, arrest Alek Minassian, who is accused of 10 counts of first-degree murder.
What she didn’t realize at the time was the trail of destruction that was left behind.
On the five-minute walk back north to her condo, she saw it all while on the phone with her mom who was back in Kitchener.
“It went in phases. At first, people were terrified. Then, the more north I walked toward my home … the more mortified people were,” said Bridel, praising the actions of first responders.
“The horrible reality is that there were some that were beyond help, which is of course, the hardest thing to see. Most people just cried and watched helplessly.
As of Wednesday, Bridel has yet to return to Yonge Street. She said the area, however, is desolate since the incident with the police tape still up.
She has plans to drop flowers at the site of the attack, when she can.
“I can’t tell you how lucky I feel,” said Bridel, adding that she’s been asked about how she has coped by many people.
“Each time, I feel more and more grateful for how darn lucky I was on Monday.”