The family of a pedestrian killed after two cars collided in the city’s west end on Monday night has identified her as Julia Cleveland, 46, a Toronto-based jazz musician and composer.
The collision happened in the area of Annette Street and Pacific Avenue, near Dundas Street W. and Keele Street, shortly after 8 p.m.
Duty Insp. Scott Shutt, spokesperson for the Toronto police, said the force of the collision sent a car crashing into two pedestrians, a woman and a man, on the sidewalk.
Speed could be a factor in the collision, he said.
The man, 50, was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.
‘Wonderful and talented’ musician
In a statement, Cleveland’s family said she was “a wonderful and talented local Toronto jazz musician and composer.”
She also worked as the finance manager for the Toronto Musicians Association to give back to the city’s local music community, the statement said.
Her family said it is devastated at Cleveland’s death and asked “all Torontonians to slow down and be careful on the roads.”
“Just a little bit of speeding and a moment of inattention can mean that a beautiful, loved person like Julia has their life extinguished in the blink of an eye.”
Police haven’t laid charges in connection with the crash.
No charges yet
A news release Tuesday said a 57-year-old man was driving a Hyundai sedan north on Pacific Avenue when he struck a Hyundai Tuscon going west, driven by a 34-year-old woman.
The intersection does have traffic lights, but police didn’t say if one of the drivers ignored the signal.
The crash sent the Tuscon careening onto the northwest corner of the intersection, where two pedestrians were hit.
The woman died at the scene, police said.
One of the cars ended up more than 30 metres away from the middle of the intersection where the collision occurred, Shutt said.
“It’s a horrible situation,” he told reporters near the scene on Monday night. “It’s a tragic incident and it could happen to anybody.”
Shutt said several bystanders rushed over to help the two pedestrians.
The drivers of both vehicles remained at the scene, were not injured and are co-operating with police, he added.
Flowers appear at crash scene on Tuesday
On Tuesday, a makeshift memorial appeared at the scene of the crash as people placed flowers in the area.
Saba Ahmad said her daughter walks home from school on Annette Street with her friends every day. She said people often drive fast in the area.
“It just feels very unsafe, and I wish people would slow down,” she said.
Ahmad said she imagines she will find out she knew the woman who died through someone else in her neighbourhood.
“That’s what usually happens when you have a death like that in the community on the streets, you find what your connections were to the person who died,” she said. “It’s very distressing.”
Police are asking anyone with information about the collision or surveillance video to contact them.