Woman hit by reversing garbage truck dies

Building operator says victim had been sleeping in alleyway for weeks

The death of a woman believed to have been sleeping in a downtown alleyway before she was struck by a garbage truck early Tuesday is being called a sombre reminder that homelessness continues to be a major problem in the city.

In the early morning hours just steps north of St. Andrew subway station, a person police have yet to publicly identify was reportedly sleeping over a surface grate, seeking some comfort from the heat below.

A garbage truck driver from Green For Life (GFL) Environmental, one of the garbage collection companies in the city, was backing into the same tight alleyway between two office buildings to collect the morning garbage, as usual.

It was still dark outside, and police said the driver struck the person.

In the minutes that followed, emergency crews were called and attempted to save the victim’s life, but could not. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police spokesperson David Hopkinson said they are treating this incident as a fatal collision, and while the on-scene investigation is over, there’s no more information that can be shared — including the identity of the victim and whether they were homeless.

The Toronto police traffic services division confirmed the victim was female and said GFL has a mechanism in place to assist employees who are involved in traumatic incidences like this one. GFL did not respond to the Star’s questions about these policies and details about what happened Tuesday morning.

Daniel Gareau, a building operator at 165 University Ave. — the building on the northern side of the alleyway where the person died — said there’s no question the person was homeless and had been sleeping at the corner of the alley for a while.

“She wasn’t there yesterday but for the past two weeks she’s been there,” he said Tuesday. He said he had reviewed some of the videos that he got from the building’s security cameras, and shared them with police.

“It’s sad on both ways. The homeless person, plus the driver himself,” he said, noting he arrived at the scene shortly before 6 a.m. and saw the driver frantically calling dispatches and his company.

Police said the driver remained on scene and he and the company he works for are cooperating.