The TTC logo, photographed Jan. 25 2011.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
On a warm August evening two summers ago, 17-year-old Alex Gillespie peeled away from a crowd of revellers on Woodbine Beach and headed off across Lake Shore Boulevard. He made it less than halfway when he was hit by a city bus, pinned underneath and killed.
Now, his family is taking the TTC to court, alleging its driver was speeding and made a sudden lane change in the moments before colliding with Alex. The $2-million suit also names Toronto police, whom the family contend herded partygoers toward the busy street without controlling traffic to make sure it was safe to cross.
None of these claims, which are contained in court documents, have been proven in court.
"We sincerely believe that this should not have happened. He should still be alive," said Bill Gillespie, Alex's father, in an interview. "We believe there was negligence."
Mr. Gillespie said further evidence to buttress his case would be revealed at a Wednesday press conference near the site of the crash.
The TTC had not yet been served with the suit, said spokesman Brad Ross, adding that the service doesn't usually speak publicly about litigation. He would not confirm whether the driver named in the documents, Gary Steadman, still works for the TTC.
Toronto police, meanwhile, are aware of the case but also would not comment.
"We have received the lawsuit today," said spokesman Kevin Masterman on Tuesday. "But at this point, we won't be commenting on it, due to the fact we just received it."
A student at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, Alex Gillespie was among hundreds of people who went to the eastend beach for a party on Aug. 20, 2010, a Friday. According to the suit, police deployed 38 officers, including five on horseback and 10 on bicycles, to break up the crowd that evening. Shortly after 10 p.m., Mr. Gillespie tried to jaywalk across Lake Shore.
At the time, police said he and two friends darted into traffic when the light was against them. While the two friends turned back, Mr. Gillespie continued on and was hit by the bus, which had just made a stop at Ashbridge's Bay, and was travelling east in the passing lane.
Fire crews and paramedics worked for hours to free Mr. Gillespie from under the vehicle, but he was pronounced dead in hospital. Two days after the crash, a police traffic officer said bus passengers told investigators the driver tried to avoid the crash by using his emergency brake.
In a tribute printed in The Globe and Mail a year after Mr. Gillespie's death, his mother, Kathryn Wright, wrote that her son grew up in the Beaches with two brothers and two sisters.
A boy with an artistic bent, he liked to perform improvisational comedy and freestyle rap lyrics, and aspired to perform and produce music, she wrote.