Major downtown Toronto intersection closed after car crash involving pedestrians

If you're in the midst of your afternoon commute, you may want to steer clear of the Bay and College area. 

According to police, a major collision has closed the intersection and sent multiple people to the hospital. 

COLLISION: College/Bay @trafficservices updating from the scene ^km https://t.co/GNu52LMFST

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) August 22, 2019

Police say the accident happened just after 3 p.m., involved three vehicles and possibly a traffic light violation. 

The intersection at College and Bay street is closed while the scene is investigated and cleaned up. 

Police also confirmed at least three pedestrians have been taken to trauma hospitals, and at least one child has been taken to SickKids. 

They're asking that people avoid the area while police continue to investigate the situation, at least during rush hour. 

Several police units are on the scene.

One block in each direction has also been closed and above-ground TTC vehicles will not be operating in the area, so plan for some delays if that's your usual stomping ground. 

Brutal looking accident involving pedestrians at Bay and College — want to spend the rest of the day in a bunker

— Angelo Muredda (@amuredda) August 22, 2019

Sadly, this is far from the first time pedestrians have been involved in a collision in Toronto this year. 

So far, at least 20 pedestrians have died since the beginning of 2019. 

Just yesterday a woman in Scarborough was killed after being hit by two separate vehicles, neither of which remained at the scene. 

And on Tuesday night a man died in hospital after being struck by a vehicle near Laureleaf Rd. and Steeles Ave.

A pedestrian struck by a driver on Steeles Avenue yesterday succumbed to their injuries, making it the 18th pedestrian killed on Toronto's streets this year. #struckTO #walkTO #VisionZero #TOpoli pic.twitter.com/8WdT44FQVF

— Trevor Heywood (@hey_trev) August 22, 2019

Not to mention the time a pedestrian was struck and killed at the very moment city council was debating how to prevent pedestrian deaths. 

Nowadays, it seems almost as though pedestrian deaths are a regular occurence in this city, and the Vision Zero Road Safety Plan is more needed than ever. 

In 2018 there were 40 pedestrian fatalities in Toronto, ⁠and while everyone is hoping 2019 doesn't beat that record, with two pedestrian fatalities in two days and (potentially) more today, it's not looking good.