Van rams into pedestrians in Toronto; 2 dead

TORONTO, April 23 

A white van killed at least two persons on a suburban Toronto sidewalk on Monday after jumping the curb and the driver was in custody, according to the police. 

The police in Canada’s largest city initially said eight to 10 persons had been injured but later said it was unclear exactly how many had been hurt or the extent of their injuries.

A Reuters witness said there were at least two bodies at the site of the incident. At least seven persons were brought to nearby Sunnybrook Health Services Centre's trauma center, the hospital said on Twitter.

It was not immediately clear if the incident was a deliberate act by the driver or a traffic mishap. It occurred at lunchtime on a sunny day and the sidewalks of the mixed commercial and residential area were full of pedestrians.

Police were called just before 1:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) to the corner of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue in the north end of the city, where a van drove onto the sidewalk and hit several people, said Toronto Police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray.

A man who gave his name as Ali told CNN he saw the van and that the driver appeared to have been targeting people. “This person was intentionally doing this, he was killing everybody,” the man said. “He kept going, he kept going. People were getting hit, one after another.” — Reuters