Driver hits 100-year-old woman walking along North York sidewalk

A 100-year-old woman is in life-threatening condition after she was hit by a driver while walking along a North York sidewalk in broad daylight on Tuesday, police say.

Toronto police say the woman was walking on the south sidewalk of Steeles Avenue East westbound toward Bluffwood Drive just before midday when she was hit by the 64-year-old male driver of a Subaru, who was making a right-hand turn from Bluffwood onto Steeles.

The woman suffered life-threatening injuries and was immediately taken to hospital.

Police say the driver remained on scene, and the investigation is ongoing.

Any local residents or businesses with security camera footage, as well as other drivers with dash cam images, are encouraged to contact investigators.

Traffic services Supt. Scott Baptist said the focus of the ongoing investigation of the case is to determine whether the driver was making a right turn on a red light, and whether the collision took place in the crosswalk.

Police have not yet determined if the driver will face any charges.

Road safety continues to be a major problem despite the city's Vision Zero program that aims to reduce collisions and end traffic fatalities.

So far this year there have been 15 fatalities on Toronto roads, 11 of which were pedestrians, according to publicly available data from police.

In 2021, 29 of 63 traffic deaths in Toronto were pedestrians.

Gilbert Ngabo is a Toronto-based crime reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @dugilbo