A seven-year-old girl has been killed after being struck by a van while riding her bicycle in a designated crosswalk.
Police say a van struck Victoria Jones on Tuesday shortly before 1 p.m. while she attempted to cross the street at Bay Mills Boulevard near Warden and Sheppard Avnenues.
The child, who was with her brother at the time, was rushed to Scarborough Grace Hospital where she later died.
Police believe the 41-year-old driver of the van had stopped to let Victoria's brother cross the street, and did not see the girl as she cycled into the crosswalk.
Det. Wally Watts told CTV News that a crosswalk is the safest way for pedestrians to cross the street.
"This particular collision did not have to happen. We cannot provide a better situation for children to cross the road," Watts said on Wednesday.
The distraught driver of the van remained on the scene long after the accident and was the first person to alert police to the incident.
Neighourhood friends described Victoria as smart, pretty and athletic girl.
The collision is being investigated by Traffic Services, however, police believe that speed was not a factor in the girl's death.
"There was a very low-speed impact. I can probably say within the area of 20 kilometres," Watts said during a press conference on Wednesday.
No charges have been laid.
Police urged both motorists and pedestrians to be mindful of the rules of the road as the summer comes to an end.
"It's the end of the summer and you know next week, thousands of children are coming back to school. They're going to be walking on those sidewalks, they're going to be crossing the roadways," Watts said.
"We as parents, grandparents, professionals, and teachers have a responsibility to make our kids aware, make them safe. Part of that is to continuously reinforce the rules, the rules are there to keep them safe and keep them out of harm's way."
Scarborough MPP Jim Karygiannis said the death of Victoria highlights the need for speed bumps in the area and renews the call for more crossing guards; a request made four months ago.
"You've got two crossing areas, a lot of kids living behind us with a lot of them coming to the school to play. We certainly need crossing guards and the other thing you need to do is get is called a sleeping policeman or ramps so people when they go through will at least slow down," Karygiannis said.
With a report from CTV's Janice Golding
