Police have yet to identify the victim, but his cousin told CBC Toronto that Saini came to Canada in August 2021.
UPDATE – 10:15 AM, SUNDAY – 11/27/22
Toronto: A 20-year-old Indian student from Haryana state was hit by a pickup truck and dragged away while riding his bicycle across a pedestrian crossing, police said.
Police have yet to identify the victim, but his cousin told CBC Toronto that Saini came to Canada in August 2021.
Sheridan College student Saini was hit and dragged away by a white pickup truck at the intersection of Yonge Street and St Clair Avenue about 4.30pm on Wednesday.
Police said the truck driver was making a right turn through the crosswalk when he hit the cyclist and continued on with “both the bicycle and the cyclist stuck under the vehicle”.
“The driver of the Ford F-250 pickup struck the cyclist and continued north on Yonge Street, trapping the bicycle and cyclist under the vehicle,” police said in a news release.
After the accident, emergency personnel rushed to the scene and pronounced Saini dead at the scene.
Police said “members of the Transport Services are investigating”.
They have asked local residents and drivers who may have dashcam footage or sightings to contact investigators.
The family hopes that Saini’s body will be sent to India for burial as soon as possible.
“Our family is devastated by the death of Sheridan College student Kartik Saini at a dangerous Toronto intersection and we ask local authorities to assist us in bringing his body back to India as soon as possible,” family member Ravi Saini tweeted on Saturday. Address to Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor John Tory.
Meanwhile, in honor of Saini, Advocacy For Respect for Cyclists, a Toronto-based volunteer group, organized a ride in his memory on Nov. 30.