Another car got stuck inside the TTC's Queens Quay tunnel

It looks like someone in Toronto finished off 2017 with a bang (and some screeches and a serious case of regret).

An abandoned SUV was found inside the Queens Quay streetcar tunnel on Sunday morning at around 4 a.m. with a broken front axle and missing license plates.

Police say that the vehicle, which was a rental, got stuck on the tracks after someone drove it down the tunnel at the Queens Quay Ferry Terminal stop. 

It took about eight hours for crews to remove it, forcing the 510 Spadina and 509 Harbourfront streetcars to turn around at Queens Quay until 1 p.m. on Sunday. 

To the driver that thought it was okay to keep going: it wasn’t. Also, taking the plates and cleaning the car just means we trace the #VIN. As per the TTC, it will be a number of hours before they are able to safely remove this vehicle from the tunnel. @TPSOperations @CityNews pic.twitter.com/yrJ6q0RWuh

— K.Tauro (@TPSTauro) December 31, 2017

There have been more than 20 similar car-stuck-in-tunnel incidents since 2014, but the TTC is confused as to how this one happened – especially after its relatively recent installation of extra signs, rumble strips and lighting fixtures.

"If that doesn't stop them, driving on the raised tracks, the noise, the sparks, should be an indication that something is not right," said TTC spokesperson Brad Ross to the Star this weekend.

Ross added that while he is unsure if alcohol played a factor this time, "at 4 in the morning, something was going on with the driver, because they did flee as well."

The driver was seen removing the vehicle's plates before fleeing and all of his personal effects had been cleaned out. Still, police are confident that they can track down the driver using video footage, finger prints, the vehicle identification number and other methods.