5-year-old pinned between SUVs dies

TORONTO • Grief counsellors were at a north Toronto school Tuesday to help students and staff cope with the news that a five-year-old girl had died after being pinned between two SUVs outside the school.

The Toronto Catholic district school board said the senior kindergarten student was walking with her father to their car in the pickup area outside St. Raphael Catholic School on Monday when the incident took place just before 3:30 p.m.

Const. Clint Stibbe said a Hyundai Sante Fe SUV with no one inside it rolled forward and pinned both the girl and her father against their Mercedes-Benz SUV.

According to media reports, the vehicle belonged to another parent who was also at the schoolyard picking up a child.

A mother parked the Hyundai further up the street and got out to walk across the street toward the school, CTV Toronto’s Austin Delaney reported. It’s unclear if the gear was engaged or if there was a mechanical problem that caused the vehicle to move, he said.

The girl was critically injured and was taken to the Hospital for Sick Children in downtown Toronto, where she died of her injuries.

The girl’s 42-year-old father was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Roads in the area were closed while police investigated what was described as a freak accident.

“I haven’t got any stats … in relation to how often we see a vehicle moving on its own,” Stibbe said.

The police traffic services division said the investigation was ongoing and charges, if any, had not yet been determined.

Toys and flowers were left at a small memorial in a snowbank outside the school Monday. Students and staff were also planning on creating a memorial table for the girl, the school board said.

“Tragedies such as this can be difficult for anyone to accept or understand, particularly for young people,” the school board said in a statement. “A team of counsellors, including a social worker, psychologist and members of our chaplaincy and religion team will be on hand to support the school community today.”

School board communications manager Emmy Milne told the CBC that extra support was being provided because the incident occurred around dismissal time.

I HAVEN’T GOT ANY STATS (ABOUT) HOW OFTEN WE SEE A VEHICLE MOVING ON ITS OWN.