Mississauga father says he tracked down driver who left scene after hitting his 13-year-old son near school

Syed Saeed says he went door to door to find the driver of a van who fled after hitting his son with a car after police allegedly provided little help.

A Mississauga father says he was forced to personally track down the driver who fled after striking his 13-year-old son — frustrated by what he describes as a slow police investigation.

The collision happened on the morning of Sept. 8 as Syed Saeed’s 13-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter walked towards Erin Centre Middle School in Mississauga.

As the two children crossed the intersection of Tenth Line West and Perennial Drive, Saeed says a left-turning Toyota Sienna struck the boy head-on, tossing him several feet into the air before he fell in the middle of the crosswalk.

“They were scared. They were shaking,” Saeed said. “My son is 13 years old. He had no clue how to handle this situation. He was scared. He was nervous. He stood up and he ran towards home.”

Video obtained by CTV News Toronto appears to capture the moment: the boy stepping into the crosswalk, the minivan turning left into the intersection, and the impact that sends him flying towards the side of the frame.

Moments after, the driver appears to briefly slow down before driving off.

The boy suffered minor injuries and lost his glasses in the collision.

Father launches his own investigation

Saeed, who has four children, said the family moved into the neighbourhood just over a year ago, and his kids usually walk five to seven minutes to school.

“My daughter was with him, and she is also a minor. All she cared about was her brother. They didn’t even know what happened to them,” Saeed said.

Two witnesses and a neighbour’s CCTV camera captured the incident, but without a licence plate, Saeed said, progress was slow. He says police told him to attend a collision centre but without the plate number the case appeared to stall.

Frustrated, Saeed said he launched his own search. He knocked on doors asking for video until, with the help of friends, he eventually tracked down the driver, the vehicle, and the plate.

Video footage that Saeed provided to CTV News shows him confronting the alleged driver at their door. In the footage, the individual admits to striking the boy but says that they only drove away after the boy signaled that he was OK. The individual also tells Saeed that they contacted the school in an attempt to make sure the boy was OK.

CTV News Toronto also viewed a third video provided by Saeed which showed what appears to be a blue minivan with front-end damage just above the licence plate that was parked outside the home.

How are police responding?

On Wednesday, Saeed provided the information to police, who confirmed to CTV News that they are now investigating.

No arrests have been made in connection with the incident so far.

“While no injuries were reported, we recognize the distress this has caused the child and their family and remain committed to supporting them, finding those responsible, and holding them accountable,” a statement provided by Peel Regional Police states. “We take all incidents seriously, especially those involving children, and encourage anyone with information about this hit-and-run to come forward,” the statement notes.

In their statement, police said that officers were initially delayed in responding due to a “higher-than-usual” volume of priority calls.

Police added that officers “have remained in contact with the family to provide updates until resources are available.”

Saeed, however, said he quickly grew frustrated with the police investigation after not immediately being given a case number on Monday, suggesting that a detective had not yet been assigned. He said that it felt like the matter wasn’t being handled with any urgency.

“I thought, as a parent if I take my case involving a minor, they will raise their eyebrows, but there was no reaction,” he told CTV News.

In a subsequent statement provided to CTV News on Thursday, a Peel police spokesperson said that while they can “certainly understand a parent’s frustration in this circumstance,” it is important to let police investigate and not resort to tracking down a perpetrator yourself.

“By going door-to-door, you may inadvertently interfere in the police’s ability to investigate and gather evidence, for example, you may tip the individual off who then might hide or tamper with evidence or take further measures to escape liability. Additionally, confronting individuals can put you at risk; you never know what/who is on the other side of that confrontation,” Const. Tyler Bell-Morena said.

Bell-Morena went on to say that “in situations such as these, it’s important to have conversations with your children to ensure they know to report an incident immediately at the time it happens if possible.”

He said that motorists who are involved in a collision with a pedestrian should also “always err on the side of caution and report the incident,” even if there are no injuries.

“Sometimes children are fearful to report incidents in certain circumstances as they fear they may have done something wrong and may get into trouble; so, ensuring they know that its more important to be safe and report the incident is crucial,” he said.

A wider concern for safety in school zones

The Mississauga hit-and-run is the latest in a string of troubling incidents near schools. In May, a 15-year-old boy was left seriously injured after being struck in a school parking lot. At the time, footage taken from CP24, showed what appeared to be a bike wedged underneath a black SUV.

For months, police across the GTA have repeatedly warned drivers this fall to slow down in school zones.

“Drivers, remember to slow down especially in school zones,” Peel police posted on social media last week. Const. Tyler Bell-Morena from Peel Police also told CP24 that officers would be patrolling for weeks to enforce speed limits and bus safety rules.

However, some advocates argue that warnings aren’t enough.

Jess Spieker, with Friends and Families for Safe Streets, said collisions like this one show how vulnerable children are.

“It says that we don’t take road safety seriously, and we especially don’t take it seriously in school zones,” she said. “Even if you weren’t willing to open the streets to the kids only, what you could do is build raised crosswalks where the kids are crossing, or curb extensions — things that naturally force drivers to slow down.”

Spieker says that she too was once struck by a driver making a left turn 10 years ago, emphasizing the effects of PTSD still linger from time to time.

This latest incident comes just weeks after a recent survey by CAA South Central Ontario suggest that 63 per cent of parents think school zones are “very unsafe,” signalling a 12 per cent jump from 2023.

• READ MORE: More than half of Ontario parents think their child’s school zone is ‘very unsafe,’ survey finds

Daily routines ‘have changed,’ Saeed says

For Saeed, the incident has permanently changed how his family approaches their day-to-day morning routine.

“Every morning we have to hold our kids’ hands very tight, make sure everything is safe. There’s a lot of fear around us now,” he said.

“I told my wife, not a single day I’m letting them go alone anymore. Even if they’re late for school, let it be… but I’m going to either take them in a car or I’m going to walk them to school myself. Things have changed.”

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