Cyclist, 18, dies after he was struck by dump truck in Toronto

An 18-year-old cyclist died after he was struck by a dump truck in Toronto on Wednesday evening, police say.

The collision happened at Avenue Road and Bloor Street West. Police officers from 53 Division were called to the scene at about 6:10 p.m.

Police said the cyclist, believed to be from Toronto, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The dump truck driver, a 50-year-old man, remained at the scene and is co-operating with police. He is said to be "quite shaken" by the incident. Earlier, police had said he was driving a cement truck but revised that description later.

Insp. Michael Williams, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, told reporters that the cyclist and truck driver were both travelling northbound in the curb lane on Avenue Road, north of Bloor Street West, when the cyclist was struck. 

Williams said other motorists and pedestrians had to alert the driver that he was involved in a collision.

"It doesn't sound like the [dump] truck gave enough room to the cyclist, unfortunately," Williams said.

"It's very tragic and very preventable. This is a very unfortunate incident."

Next of kin have been notified. There have been 26 fatalities due to traffic collisions in Toronto this year.

Williams urged drivers to slow down, especially since Ontario has begun to reopen and more people are on the roads than previously in the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We've had pretty open roads for a long time, and now, we've got very high concentrations of pedestrians and cyclists now joining the roads again. We're just asking everyone to maybe just slow down a little bit or take a second," he said.

"Maybe take that extra look and just try to be safe because we've got a far higher concentration of people out on our streets right now."

Members of Toronto Police's traffic services are investigating.

Police are appealing to local residents, business owners and drivers to come forward if they witnessed the crash, or have any security, dashboard camera or cell phone video that would be of use to investigators.

The intersection is open to east-west traffic on Bloor Street West but Avenue Road north of the intersection was closed as of 9:30 p.m. Motorists are urged to take alternate routes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at (416) 808-1900, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (416) 222-TIPS (8477).