Child Dies - Hit by Car While Cycling

June 08, 2017, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

A recent tragedy saw the life of a 5-year-old child lost in a bike accident. The child was cycling with his grandfather along Lakeshore Blvd in Toronto during supper hour when his bicycle jumped into traffic off the cycling path. He fell onto the road and was hit by a passing car.

Xavier Morgan was rushed to Sick Kids where he was pronounced dead. A 29-year-old man was driving the car that hit Xavier. The driver remained at the scene. There is no word on any charges pending.

The police conducted a full onsite investigation as did the City of Toronto. Barrier fencing is being erected along the trail where the boy was struck and killed. Investigators called for several other safety measures to be implemented along that stretch of the trail. These include signage and trail markings for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. The fencing should provide better security for all trail users.

Xavier is the first cyclist to die this year in Toronto, however according to police 174 collisions have occurred between cyclists and cars/other vehicles. The police say those numbers don’t include the ‘dooring’ collisions, or cyclist/cyclist collisions, or cyclist/pedestrian collisions.

There continues to be a lot of debate province wide in communities about cycling safety and the use of bike lanes that are physically separated from the roadways. Many argue that without being physically divided from cars on the roads, cyclists will not be safe. Others argue that the cost of these barriers makes them unrealistic, particularly with so few people using bikes for transportation year-round.

The Region of Waterloo has recently established a cycling portal called Biek WR on their website as a one stop shop for all news/information about cycling in the Region. You can find it here.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.