Police to update investigation into hit-and-run at Toronto university

John Rieti · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 16, 2025 1:40 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Toronto police are set to hold an update Wednesday about a hit-and-run on a Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) walkway that left four people injured.

Insp. Errol Watson is set to speak with reporters at 3 p.m. ET. You'll be able to watch live in this story. 

On Tuesday, police said the driver involved may have acted intentionally, though investigators provided few additional details. Police have not announced any arrests in connection with the incident at this time. 

The collision happened on Nelson Mandela Walk, a pedestrian walkway just south of Gerrard Street that sits between the campus library and an academic building. It happened just before 2 p.m.

The driver was in a dark green sedan with a smashed-in windshield, police said, with the license plate DEDZ 565 

Two people were taken to hospital, though all four who were hit are expected to survive. None were TMU students or staff, though the incident left many on campus shaken.

Third-year TMU student Isaac Meng told reporters he was studying in the library next to the walkway around 1:50 p.m., when he heard a loud, revving sound.

He said one of his friends started calling out loudly to him, "A car just crashed [into] people! A car just crashed [into] people!"

Meng said he rushed to the window, but the car was already gone. He says he saw a man lying on the grass, apparently unconscious, as people tried to call to him. At that point, he and his friend called the police, he said.

"It was crazy," Meng said, saying it was like a scene out of a movie.

Later Wednesday, Mayor Olivia Chow and several TMU officials discussed the incident while attending a gala event put on by the university. 

TMU issued a safety alert online at the time. 

"Our thoughts are with those who have been injured and impacted by this incident," TMU said in a statement.