A 20-year-old woman is dead after she was struck and “run over” by a vehicle while crossing a Mississauga road late Saturday night.
Officers were called to the area of Queensway and Hurontario Street at around 11 p.m. for reports of a pedestrian who had been struck by a vehicle.
The woman was taken to a Toronto trauma centre with life-threatening injuries, where she later died.
Speaking to reporters Sunday morning, Sgt. Taylor Halfyard said the woman was crossing Queensway in a northbound direction mid-block when she reached the centre median. As she stepped into the westbound lanes, she fell onto the roadway and was struck by a passing sedan.
“What we’ve learned is that the victim fell onto the road, and that the driver ran her over with his vehicle,” Halfyard said.
Investigators say the vehicle left the scene immediately after the collision but returned about eight minutes later.
The driver was initially arrested and charged with failing to remain at the scene causing bodily harm. After the woman died, that allegation was upgraded to failing to remain causing death.
However, Halfyard said the driver has since been released unconditionally while investigators continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the collision.
Police are trying to determine whether there was any criminal intent behind the driver’s initial departure from the scene or whether the driver was unaware they had struck the woman.
Halfyard explained the woman was “essentially jaywalking” and not at a designated crosswalk.
The investigation remains ongoing, but police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact them.
