Alex Gillespie , a 17-year-old boy struck and killed by a TTC bus in 2010.
On August 20, 2010, Alex Gillespie's father picked him up at Pearson International Airport, where the 17-year-old was returning from a holiday visiting relatives in British Columbia. He was looking forward to a party at Woodbine Beach that night -- billed online as a big event with live DJs -- and his dad dropped him off at a nearby friend's house.
But shortly after Mr. Gillespie and two buddies arrived at the beach, police started breaking up the party. As Mr. Gillespie tried to cross Lake Shore Boulevard East around 10:15 p.m., he was hit by a TTC bus and fatally injured.
At a Wednesday press conference near the site of the crash, Mr. Gillespie's parents said understaffing at the TTC's central control and a lack of police planning contributed to their son's death.
They contended that the bus was driving too quickly, given the crowds of people at the party and that police herded revellers towards Lake Shore without controlling traffic. What's more, they charge, police investigators did not review GPS recordings from the bus that struck Mr. Gillespie, which showed it was travelling at 57 kilometres per hour, seven clicks over the speed limit.
"There were two organizations that didn't do what they were supposed to do under the circumstances and did do some things that they weren't supposed to do, and as a result we lost a wonderful person," said Mr. Gillespie's mother, Kathryn Wright.
The family is suing Toronto police, the transit agency and bus driver Gary Steadman for $2 million. None of their claims have been proven.
Neither the TTC nor police would comment.
"We will respond in court. That is where evidence is tested and findings are made," said police spokesman Mark Pugash. "We don't think it is appropriate to conduct this via news conference or sidewalk interview."
Ms. Wright and Bill Gillespie, Alex's father, presented TTC communication logs and correspondence -- obtained through freedom of information requests -- that indicate the bus that struck their son was travelling in the passing lane, although drivers are encouraged to stick closer to the curb.
The documents also show that TTC personnel requested extra buses to handle large crowds at the party, but were turned down by central control. They also indicate a toxicology report on the boy came back negative, suggesting that he was not impaired when he was killed.
At the time of the incident, police said the bus had a green light and Alex was jaywalking.
Beaches resident Greg Brown, 46, said he was returning from New York with his family that evening and drove along Lake Shore about a minute before Alex was struck. Teenagers were on the street.
"There was clearly a recipe for disaster here," he said. "I had to slam on my brakes and proceed with extreme caution."
When he tried to give information to police following the crash, however, he said no one called him back.
Anne Marie Keogh, 61, lives across the street and called police that night to warn them about all the people along Lake Shore.
"This is something that could have been predicted and avoided," she said.
Another area resident, Sergio Timeoklein, 29, said motorists often disobey the 50 kilometre per hour speed limit on the road and that traffic regulations should be better enforced.
Alex's friends, meanwhile, remembered him as a boy with a sharp sense of humour.
"He was such an inspiring person – he was passionate with everything. Passionate with politics, passionate with music, passionate with life," said Ian Robertson, 18, who first met him in grade three. "You could meet him for a day and feel like a friend."
His musical tastes extended from hip-hop to punk – he was a big fan of The Clash – and liked to organize rap battles at his school, Rosedale Heights.
His sister, Kate, 16, remembered joking with him on the plane as they travelled home from B.C.
"He was a really nice person, a really brotherly figure," she said. "He was the funniest person I knew as well as probably the smartest."