THREE HIT ON HALLOWEEN
Two in serious condition after being struck by a car while trick-or-treating
Two 13-year-old twins remain in serious condition after being struck by a vehicle while they were out trickor-treating in North York Monday night.
Police received a call for a collision in the Don Mills Rd. and Lawrence Ave. area around 8:30 p.m., said Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook of Toronto police.
Police say a Honda CRV travelling west on Lawrence Ave. E. at approximately 100 km/h rear-ended a Hyundai vehicle, veered off the road onto a grassy area and hit three children before it crashed into a pole. Photos from the scene show Halloween candy strewn about.
The Hyundai hit a Volkswagen also travelling west on Lawrence Ave. E., according to police.
The twins, a boy and a girl, were taken to Sick Kids Hospital in lifethreatening condition, according to Cook. They’ve since been upgraded to “serious” condition.
Police wouldn’t confirm a report the twins are named Zaki and Zenia Rangwala.
Athird child, 14, was also struck and suffered minor injuries.
Witness Ryan Peden, who lives in a building at Don Mills and Lawrence, heard the crash from his apartment.
He said car crashes occur “pretty often” at the intersection, but that this one, instead of just a simple “crunch,” was “a crunch, a screech, and a bump, and then a big smash, and then silence.”
By the time he ran over to the window, people were already converging on the scene, and Peden called 911; he was put on hold, but he said police showed up in less than five minutes.
“Everyone seemed pretty conscious of not wanting to move (the victims),” he said, even though several people were crouched, “in the cold,” next to the victims. Within a minute or two, people were bringing the bystanders blankets.
The female victim didn’t appear at first to be moving, Peden said, while the male victim seemed conscious. A couple of minutes later, the female victim “tried to move and screamed, because it hurt too much.”
Two of the teens attend Don Mills Middle School, just half a kilometre from where the crash happened, Toronto District School Board spokesperson Ryan Bird confirmed Tuesday. Counsellors were at the school to offer support for any students or staff, he added.
Don Mills Middle School principal Carla Robbins said the school is “a very close-knit community and so, obviously, we did what we could today to . . . support the needs of our staff and students.”
She said support was given to all those who needed it. “This is something that hits close to home,” Robbins added. “We have no update at this point and time, so obviously we hope that it’ll be a speedy recovery because we want all of our kids here at the school learning together.”
The 44-year-old male driver of the Honda CRV has since been charged with dangerous driving and criminal negligence. Police say the 35-yearold male driver of the Hyundai has been charged with impaired driving.