Police in Vaughan are appealing to the individual responsible for a tragic hit-and-run incident that resulted in the death of a woman on Sunday evening to surrender themselves. Authorities from the York Police Department indicated that the vehicle involved likely sustained significant damage, as revealed during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Constable Kevin Nebrija issued a plea to the driver, emphasizing that fleeing the scene of the accident results in criminal liability and advising them to seek legal counsel and surrender. Nebrija noted that the severity of the victim’s injuries at the time of the collision would have been evident to the driver.
According to a separate police statement released on Wednesday, individuals who aid a suspect in concealing, repairing, or modifying the vehicle to evade detection may face criminal charges.
The incident unfolded on Tuesday at 2 p.m. when York police responded to a report of an unresponsive individual discovered on the roadside in Vaughan. A passerby came across a suitcase on the road and spotted the woman lying in the grass, Nebrija recounted.
The victim, identified as a 60-year-old woman from Richmond Hill, had alighted from a bus and was walking northbound on Pine Valley Drive, just north of Major Mackenzie Drive, on Sunday evening when she was struck by a vehicle traveling in the same direction. The woman, who was en route to her job as a live-in caregiver with a suitcase in tow, was hit around 8:30 p.m., leading to her tragic demise.
While it remains uncertain whether the woman died instantly, she was found deceased by police upon their arrival on Tuesday, Nebrija confirmed. Authorities are urging anyone with additional information or dashcam footage from the vicinity between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Sunday to reach out to York police investigators or provide anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers.