Nine people were injured, including two critically, after a stolen vehicle collided with a TTC bus in North York early Monday morning, Toronto police say.
The crash happened shortly before 2 a.m. in the area of Bathurst Street and Wilson Avenue.
Speaking to reporters at the scene, Duty Insp. Brian Maslowski said initial information suggests that two vehicles, a black SUV and a white BMW, were travelling at a high rate of speed along Wilson Avenue.
When the two cars reached the intersection at Bathurst Street, the black SUV cleared the intersection but the BMW did not, Maslowski said.
The BMW struck the drivers’ side of a southbound TTC bus and the impact of the collision caused the TTC vehicle to spin around, facing northbound.
He noted that officers quickly arrived on scene to find the BMW in flames.
Officers were able to pull two occupants from the vehicle and extinguish the fire.
Two other occupants of the vehicle needed to be extricated by Toronto firefighters, Maslowski added. Two occupants of the BMW were rushed to a trauma centre in life-threatening condition.
The driver and four passengers on the TTC bus suffered only minor injuries, including a woman who was ejected from the bus, Maslowski said.
Police said the driver of the black SUV did not remain at the scene and investigators are still searching for that vehicle.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling out the feds for not doing more to strengthen the bail system following reports by the Toronto Police Association that two of the four individuals in the stolen BMW that was involved in this collision were out on bail.
On behalf of our 8,000 members, we send our thoughts to the drivers of the TTC bus and passengers who were injured this morning. We continue to call on the Federal Government to make meaningful changes to bail legislation to keep our communities safe. @TPACampbell @andrewnanton_ pic.twitter.com/AAlr1UHNmS
— Toronto Police Association (@TPAca) November 18, 2024
“More chaos on our streets because the federal government won’t do its job,” Ford said in a post reacting to the news on X.
“We’ve asked Ottawa for sensible bail reform that will keep violent and repeat criminals behind bars. It’s well past time for the federal government to deliver.”
Police are asking anyone who may have been in the area at the time of the collision to contact police or Crime Stoppers with dash camera footage.