Water taxi collides with kayak in daylight
Father and son left wondering how collision happened as police investigate, charge boat operator
It only took a second for Ben Leow to realize that he and his 8-year-old son were about to be mowed over by a water taxi on the Toronto harbour.
On July 19, Leow and his son Aidan had planned to enjoy their first kayak voyage on the lake.
The two paddled off just east of Billy Bishop Airport near the buoys and were watching the planes take off when, Leow said, a boat came straight at them.
At around 12:30 p.m., a water taxi was travelling through Toronto’s Inner Har- bour when it struck the kayak carrying the father and the son, said Const. Craig Brister, spokesman for Toronto Police.
Luckily, the two got away with minor injuries — a few cuts and bruises — but are still confused as to how the boat hit them in broad daylight.
“I have a flashback of the boat coming at my head. I had a second to turn around and I just saw the sun being enveloped and we were in darkness,” Leow said.
Leow said that he made sure to follow all the kayak guidelines, including wearing life jackets and staying within the boundaries; police continue to investigate the factors that led to the collision.
According to Luc Cote, co-owner of Tiki Taxi, the incident occurred after “people had stood in front of the driver” and blocked his view.
“The driver went around the ‘keep out’ marker when he ran into the kayak,” Cote said.
Speed may have also been a factor in the collision, Leow said — “water taxis are always driving a little faster than the other boats”— but Cote denied that, saying, “had speed been a factor, they would have gotten caught under the boat.”
All the same, the boat operator was immediately let go following the collision and a regulation was immediately instated for all Tiki Taxi employees that states “once you come (within) 100 metres of a vessel, you cut your speed by half,” Cote said.
“We can’t have an employee who hit a kayak.”
“It felt like an eternity, I was shaking for a while after,” Leow said. “A lot of kids (are) by the water during the summer, and even if this was a ‘freak accident,’ it’s still very scary.”
Immediately after the crash, a shaken Leow was simply glad his son was in good shape, but later he saw that the kayak’s rudder had been completely torn off from the crash.
“It seems strange that he would be driving around the water and unable to see anything in front of him,” he said.
A report was filed with Toronto police and the operator has been charged with careless operation of a vessel. This is the first time the company has been involved with this type of incident, Cote said.
Tiki Taxi boats operate on the city side exclusively from the intersection of Spadina Ave. and Queens Quay and have included a new dropoff location on York Quay. Taxis can also be requested from Centre Island, Hanlan’s Point and Ward’s Island.
The speed limit for all vessels, unless authorized by authorities, is 10 kilometres per hour within 150 metres of any shoreline or breakwater, Ports Toronto said.