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A 19-year-old woman remains in critical condition in hospital after she was struck in Markham in February in a hit and run, and police are hoping new video will help them find the driver.
In a news release Tuesday, York Regional Police said the woman was hit before 3:41 p.m. at the intersection of of Denison Street and Featherstone Avenue on Feb. 19.
The woman was found 50 metres east of the intersection after she was hit and carried on the car’s hood. Paramedics took her with life-altering injurie to a trauma centre, where she continues to receive treatment.
Video released by police on YouTube Tuesday shows a 2016 to 2020 Aegean Blue, four-door Honda Civic with winter tires striking the pedestrian.
The video also shows the route of the suspect leading up to the collision. In the video, the suspect drives into oncoming traffic, runs a red light at Middlefield Road, then turns northbound. The driver is later seen travelling eastbound on Highglen Avenue in what police describe a “dangerous” manner.
Suspect was driving erratically, police say
“Now this vehicle, we can see in some of the video we put out, driving massively erratically — some of the most aggressive video that I have seen just in residential streets,” said Const. James Dickson, spokesperson for York Regional Police, in an interview Tuesday.
“We know there’s a lot of people out. This area is very busy with foot traffic, and frankly, it’s a miracle that there’s no school kids that are out at this time,” he said.
Dickson said police are hoping the release of the video will prompt members of the public to come forward to help them identify the driver.
“We want make it available to everyone so they can see just how egregious this driving was and just how serious this is,” Dickson said.
“We know there’s no doubt at all that the driver of this vehicle knows that they hit someone, knows that they carry them for 50 metres and knows that they have caused life-altering injuries to this person,” he said.
“We are making a massive public appeal for this person to turn themselves in.”
Investigators are appealing in particular to drivers who were in the area, who may have dashboard camera footage and who have vehicles equipped with continuous-loop recording systems, such as Tesla models.
‘You will be identified,’ police advise driver
In a direct message to the driver in the release, police said: “You were involved in a serious collision which left a young pedestrian with life-changing injuries. Fleeing the scene makes you criminally liable for a serious offence.
“We are urging you to seek legal advice and turn yourself in. Police have video of your vehicle and your route – you will be identified.”
Police said they are reminding the public that anyone who helps the suspect in “concealing, repairing or altering the vehicle to avoid detection” is committing the offence of accessory after the fact and may face charges.
This group of people include any person who performs or arranges body work, paint work, or mechanical repairs intended to hide damage caused in the collision, police said.