 A Toronto Police officer investigates a car that crushed a man who was working under it. (CHRIS DOUCETTE/SUN MEDIA)
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A young boy could only watch in horror as his dad was crushed beneath the weight of the car he was attempting fix today outside their Don Mills apartment building.
The boy, believed to be nine years old, was apparently passing tools to his father in the parking lot behind 1059 Don Mills Rd. when the flimsy jack the family vehicle was hoisted up on suddenly toppled over around 10:20 a.m.
The purple Ford Escort came crashing down on top of the 39-year-old man and his son could only yell for help.
"I heard a kid screaming and crying, but I had no idea what happened," said one stunned neighbour, a man who didnšt give his name, shortly after the terrifying accident.
Emergency crews raced to the back of the lowrise building just south of Lawrence Ave. E., after receiving a 911 call and found the man trapped under the front of his car.
"When we got there we saw his legs sticking out from under the car," Toronto Fire Capt. John Zammit said.
Knowing every second the car was on top of the man could be the difference between life and death, he said several firefighters, other emergency responders and bystanders pitched in and lifted the car up by hand.
"One of our guys was able to grab the man by his ankles and drag him out," Zammit said. "At that point, he was grey in colour and it didnšt look good."
Paramedics worked frantically to stabilize the unconscious man at the scene before whisking him away to hospital with life-threatening head and chest injuries.
It appears the father of two had crawled under the front end of the car, near the wheel well, to repair an exhaust leak when the small jack he was using to prop the vehicle up gave way.
Residents of the building were shocked to learn of the grisly accident.
ŗHešs a very nice man, I hope hešs okay,˛ said one woman, who was out at the time but saw the father and son working together on the car as she was leaving.
ŗItšs very scary, you just never know,˛ she added.
Other neighbours said the man and his wife also have a younger daughter.
The extent of the manšs injuries was unclear as of tonight, but Toronto Police said he was still clinging to life.
chris.doucette@sunmedia.ca
