Firefighter charged after truck strikes girl

Traffic Act exemptions for emergency vehicles don’t apply to crossovers

A Toronto firefighter has been charged with careless driving after he struck an 11-year-old girl at a pedestrian crossover last month, police say.

Toronto Fire Services were called to a fire at 824 St. Clair Ave. W on Dec. 16 at about 3:30 p.m. The fire truck was travelling north on Oakwood Avenue, with lights and sirens activated, police said in a news release Friday.

As the fire truck approached Rosemount Avenue, which is controlled by a pedestrian crossover, the driver passed a stopped vehicle and struck the girl as she walked west in the crosswalk, according to a Toronto police news release.

Toronto Fire Services immediately performed first aid on the girl and she was taken to hospital with serious, but nonlife threatening injuries.

The girl is still recovering in the hospital.

The driver of the fire truck has been charged with careless driving resulting in bodily harm and for overtaking a stopped vehicle at a crossover. Both charges are Highway Traffic Act offences.

Although there are exemptions for emergency service vehicles when it comes to speeding and proceeding through red lights, there is no exemption for pedestrian crossovers, police spokesperson Meaghan Gray said.

“In this case, we are alleging that the fire truck failed to stop at the pedestrian crossover,” Gray told the Star.

Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said Toronto Fire Services continues to co-operate fully with the police through their investigation.

“Toronto Fire Services is also conducting its own internal investigation in an effort to ensure such incidents do not happen again,” Pegg said in a statement.

The firefighter who has been charged remains on active duty, he added.

“He is a highly trained and experienced firefighter with more than 22 years of service with Toronto Fire Services,” Pegg said. “My thoughts, and the thoughts of the entire Toronto Fire Services team, are with the young girl and her family during this difficult time.”

Toronto police did not give the name of the firefighter. In a statement, police said that they do not provide names of people charged under the Highway Traffic Act.

Pedestrian crossovers — button-operated crosswalks that are controlled by flashing yellow lights and a box marked with a black “X” — are intended for low to moderate traffic volumes in areas with low speed limits.

In 2018, city staff recommended the crossover at Oakwood Avenue and Rosemount Avenue be replaced with traffic lights, saying a standard traffic control signal would “provide a more appropriate form of crossing protection for pedestrians in this area.”

The crossing is next to Oakwood Collegiate Institute and near McMurrich Junior Public School.

The firefighter is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall on Feb. 20.