Images from the scene where a Wasteco garbage truck has run over and killed a young male at the intersection of King and Spadina streets in Toronto on Oct. 21, 2011.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail
A 25-year-old man is dead after he was struck by a garbage truck in downtown Toronto early Friday morning.
Police say the man was hit around 6:30 a.m. at the intersection of King Street West and Spadina Avenue and was pronounced dead on the scene. He had a skateboard with him, but it was not immediately clear if he was riding it when he was hit.
"At some point, a garbage truck was turning right from southbound Spadina to westbound King, and somehow the pedestrian became underneath the vehicle," said Sergeant Scott Collins.
A section of King Street just west of Spadina Avenue remains closed to all traffic, as police continue to investigate. The southbound lane of Spadina Avenue near King is also closed to vehicles, but streetcars are running on Spadina in both directions.
The TTC has recommended that people use the Bathurst or Queen Street routes instead.
Sgt. Collins said he estimated the intersection would remain closed until early afternoon, to allow police to reconstruct the collision.
At 10 a.m. Friday morning, the garbage truck was still sitting on King Street West next to Spadina Avenue, its sides covered with several large orange tarps. A damaged skateboard lay on the road nearby.