'It's a darned shame:' Business owner calls for action after fatal crash on Steeles Ave.
1 man dead, 3 injured following crash on Steeles Avenue, west of Hwy. 27, just before 7 a.m. Friday, Sept. 15.

YorkRegion.com and TheStar.com
Sept. 15, 2017
Jeremy Grimaldi

Dario Gabrovec has owned a business in the area of Steeles Avenue and Hwy. 27 for 15 years and during that time he's seen 12 major collisions. On the morning of Friday, Sept. 15, he saw his 13th, the fourth fatal.

“It's a darned shame; a shame and a tragedy," he said exasperated. "There's been so many deaths near this intersection."

It was just before 7 a.m. when Toronto police believe a white Acura heading eastbound on Steeles Avenue clipped the back of a dump truck that was making a left hand turn into a parking lot on the north side of Steeles Avenue in Vaughan.

After colliding with the truck, the Acura was propelled into the westbound lanes where it slammed into a grey Honda Civic.

A man in his fifties, who was sitting in the back seat of the Acura, died in the crash.

The Acura’s driver and another passenger, a male and female both in their 20s, were taken to hospital with serious injuries, according to Toronto police Const. Clint Stibbe.

The driver of the Civic suffered minor injuries. The driver of the dump truck was not injured.

Stibbe said speed might have played a factor and police are looking into whether seatbelts in the Acura were being used.

As for Gabrovec, he said until the city does something about the intersection, he expects to see plenty more crashes like this one.

"People treat Hwy. 27 like a real highway, driving 90 or 100 km/h," he added. "They changed the speed on Steeles from 80 km/h to 60 km/h, but people are still racing down this street."

Although Vaughan fire were on the scene early this morning, Toronto police have taken over and are now investigating.