The removal of speed cameras was a factor when a 15-year-old boy from Toronto was struck and suffered a brain injury, multiple fractures, vision loss, and other life-altering injuries, his family is alleging in a lawsuit. The teen was hit at a crosswalk near St. Oscar Romero Catholic Secondary School, in the area of Black Creek Drive and Weston Road, on March 25. The crash happened at the intersection of Humber Boulevard and Louvain Street, just metres from where an automated speed camera had been taken offline months before. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the boy by his mother Adebola Adebayo, alleges that the provincial government knew that the dangers of speeding vehicles would only increase without the cameras and didn’t disburse an announced Road Safety Initiatives Fund in time. “They had actual and constructive knowledge of the foreseeable serious harm to school-zone child pedestrians that would result from removing automated speed enforcement protection without an effective replacement protective measure in place,” the lawsuit says. It also names the City of Toronto and the driver. No statement of defense has been filed and nothing has yet been proven in court. Premier called speed cameras a ‘cash grab’ In the fall of 2025, Ontario Premier Doug Ford derided speed cameras as a “cash grab,” as several of them were being damaged and cut down. A law passed by the Ford government resulted in their removal by November. Data presented at a City of Toronto meeting in June found speeding in some Toronto neighbourhoods surged since the province ordered the removal of the devices, with a 400 per cent increase in the number of drivers travelling at least 16 km/h over the limit. In a statement to CTV News last week on a related traffic safety story, a Ministry of Transportation spokesperson pointed to a single camera that issued more than 70,000 tickets and got $7.5 million in fees. The spokesperson noted that Toronto has received $10 million through a $210 million Road Safety Initiative Fund, but has not submitted an application to unlock further funding. The teen’s parents are seeking $3 million in special damages, $12 million in general damages, and $1 million in punitive damages.
