Police say a 60-year-old woman who was killed in a hit-and-run in Vaughan on Sunday night was a live-in caregiver who was walking to work when she was struck. The victim was hit in the area of Pine Valley and Major Mackenzie drives at around 8:30 p.m. that evening and was not found until nearly two days later, on Tuesday afternoon, York Regional Police (YRP) police confirmed. During a news conference on Wednesday morning, Const. Kevin Nebrija said the woman had just stepped off of a bus and was walking north when she was hit by a vehicle travelling in the same direction. It is unclear if the victim died instantly but investigators said based on the level of injuries she sustained at the time of impact, the driver would have been aware that they had hit someone. The area where the woman was walking had a “very narrow shoulder,” and no sidewalk, Nebrija told reporters. Next-of-kin have been notified, he said, but police are not publicly identifying the woman, who is a resident of Richmond Hill. When asked why her body wasn’t discovered until Tuesday, police said the area where she was found is somewhat “isolated” and “not well lit.” “It does become a bit more dense in terms of foliage and grass… where the female was located a bit off of the roadway, so someone driving by would not see it right away unless you got really close,” Nebrija said. She was discovered by a passerby who spotted her suitcase on the road at around 3 p.m. on Tuesday. “When they got closer is when saw the female in the grass,” the constable said. Driver ‘criminally liable’: police Police have not released any information on a possible suspect or the suspect vehicle. Investigators are urging the driver to contact a lawyer and turn themselves in. “Fleeing the scene makes you criminally liable,” Nebrija said. He urged body shops to be on the lookout for vehicles with significant front-end damage. Former traffic cop weighs in Former Toronto police officer and collision investigator Sean Shapiro spoke with CP24’s Beatrice Vaisman late Wednesday afternoon about the deadly collision, saying that investigators will be searching for any physical evidence as they work to identify the make and model of the vehicle that was involved in it. If any car parts are located, police would even go to dealerships in an attempt to figure out what kind of vehicle was involved in this deadly crash, he said. They’ll also be looking for any video footage from the surrounding area, he said, of a damaged vehicle driving away and will be visiting auto body or repair shops for leads. Members of the public can also help with this investigation by taking note of anyone who “isn’t doing what they normally would do, maybe they didn’t show up to work, maybe they wouldn’t drive and take the bus instead,” Shapiro said. “All these things could result in leads that help (police) identify the driver.” The former traffic cop reiterated that there is no doubt that the driver of the vehicle that hit this woman and took off knew what happened. “Hitting a human, it’s not like a stone chip, it’s not a little bump,” Shapiro said. “The person who was involved in this collision, no doubt, ran intentionally to get away from the responsibility.” He said the motorist should have at least stopped to check to ensure the person they hit is okay. “Calling authorities and doing the right thing doesn’t always go through everyone’s mind. They often panic and run away, and they make matters much worse for themselves,” said Shapiro. “And of course, for the party involved, we don’t know if they would have survived had that they had emergency services respond, so they take a small matter and make it much worse.” Tips for pedestrians Shapiro went on to say that while the victim should not be blamed for what happened to her, there are a few things pedestrians can do to be more visible, notably wearing brightly coloured, reflective clothing and walking with a flashlight in their hand. “That doesn’t mean that this driver would have done the right thing or done anything differently, but you know, you increase your odds by making yourself more visible,” he said. “The other thing is, if there’s no sidewalk, walk counterflow. You want to walk into traffic, not where you have traffic where you’re speeding up behind you. That gives you both an opportunity to respond if the vehicle’s coming into your area, maybe jump out of the way.” Anyone with dashcam footage of the area at the time of the incident is urged to contact York Regional Police or Crime Stoppers anonymously. With files from Beatrice Vaisman
