 A line of returning holiday traffic makes its way down Hwy. 400 last night. Police are calling this Labour Day weekend one of the worst on record for deaths on the roads and dangerous antics by careless drivers. (Craig Robertson, Sun Media)
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Police are appealing for the public's help in nabbing a hit-and-run driver who stole a truck and killed a cyclist in Scarborough.
The fatality was one of at least 14 road deaths across the province on what was possibly one of the worst Labour Day weekends on record.
Patrick Lonergan, 40, was riding his bicycle on Murray Glen Dr., near Lawrence Ave. E. and Pharmacy Ave., on Sunday at 2:45 a.m. when the truck plowed into him, police said.
Traffic Staff-Sgt. Keith Haines said police found the stolen 1995 International truck about 125 metres away from the site of the collision. The truck was stolen from a nearby company and had only gone about 90 metres before striking Lonergan, Haines said.
"Somebody knows something, and we'd ask them to give us a call," he said. "We have this truck that ran over this guy who was just minding his own business, and we're asking for leads from the public to help us with them."
Anyone who knows anything is asked to call Toronto Police Traffic Services at 416-808-1900.
Ontario Provincial Police officers conducting their long -weekend traffic blitz were left in a state of "disbelief" over the dangerous antics displayed by careless drivers, Commissioner Julian Fantino said.
By last night, "literally thousands" of charges had been laid, Sgt. Cam Woolley said, as Fantino shook his head over the amount of drunk driving, aggressive driving, speeding and seatbelt avoidance plaguing Ontario's highways.
Fantino said it was one of the worst -- if not the worst -- Labour Day holidays for traffic fatalities in recent years.
"It is," he said. "We were just talking about that. We just don't know where to compare it to because it's just not finished yet."
So far this year the OPP has issued 40,000 more traffic tickets than the same time last year, Fantino said.
"It's people taking chances and not thinking about safety, believing that they're invincible and thinking they're going to get away with it," he said. "I can assure you that more and more, people are being held accountable."
Across the GTA and beyond, the carnage began Thursday night with the death of a 25-year-old motorcyclist on the Gardiner Expressway and continued all weekend, including:
- Toronto native Jackie Do Vale-Avelar, 24, was killed on Hwy. 401 near Cambridge early Friday after her car was struck by a truck that failed to remain at the scene. Do Vale-Avelar then moved her 3-year-old daughter, Bela, to safety on the shoulder, and set out to cross the highway again to get her cellphone when she was struck by a second truck and killed. Her funeral is today.
- A 49-year-old York Region man endured life-threatening injuries after a five-vehicle collision at Markham Rd. and Steeles Ave. E. on Saturday afternoon. The crash affected a total of 13 people, with nine suffering minor injuries.
- A 42-year-old man driving on Sheppard Ave. near Sentinel Rd. died after his car stuck a lamp post just before 1 a.m.
- Tragedy also struck the waterways, with a 50-year-old Toronto woman dying after her kayak flipped in the Tay River near Perth Saturday.
- Steven Milne, 52, of Ajax, was killed Sunday night when his Ford Mustang veered into a ditch and hit a tree before rolling near Oakwood, west of Lindsay.
