A man was arrested for impaired driving after his car ran a stop sign and was hit by another vehicle in the Finch Ave. and Bathurst St. area. (MANNY RODRIGUES PHOTO)

TORONTO - A man is accused of driving drunk in a collision that killed his friend Saturday morning.

Three 29-year-old men were in a Chevrolet Malibu going west along Charlton Blvd. "at a very high rate of speed" when it ran a stop sign at Grantbrook St., near Finch Ave. and Bathurst St., and was struck by a northbound Dodge Caliber at 7 a.m., Toronto Police Sgt. Tim Burrows said.

"The Malibu spun into a hydro pole, which hit the passenger rear door, which is where a passenger was sitting, then it hit a tree and then spun out of control again and ended up about 20 metres from the actual impact area," Burrows said.

"The driver's door was another 30 metres away from that and a large piece of the front end of the Dodge was another 20 to 30 metres beyond all of that."

The Concord man in the back seat was pronounced dead at the scene, while his two friends — the front-seat passenger, also from Concord, and the Minesing driver — were taken to hospital with what were believed to be non life-threating injuries, Burrows said.

The 60-year-old Toronto driver of the other car and his 61-year-old wife were also taken to hospital, but they were expected to be released Saturday, Burrows said.

The Minesing man was arrested on impaired driving allegations, but charges weren't laid as of early afternoon because his condition deteriorated and he had to be transported to another hospital for surgery, Burrows said.

"There were several beer bottles laying on the ground outside of the car, a few inside the car, and quite a bit of prescription medication as well," Burrows said.

It wasn't immediately clear where the trio were coming from or going to before the collision.

"The first message is, you don't drink and drive," Burrows said. "The second message is the speed alone in this impact would have been a factor enough to cause a death in this collision."

While the speed hadn't been confirmed as of Saturday afternoon, it appeared the Malibu was going at least twice the posted 50 km/h limit in the "quiet, residential" neighbourhood, Burrows said.

The collision came hours before legislation takes effect that will make it illegal for drivers 21 years old and younger to have any alcohol in their system as of midnight Aug. 1.

"It (Saturday's collision) reinforces our message that no matter how old you are, every driver should have a zero blood-alcohol level," Burrows said.

Witnesses were asked to contact police at 416-808-1900 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477, 222tips.com, or by texting TOR and your tip to CRIMES.

tamara.cherry@sunmedia.ca