In the middle of rush hour, traffic stopped at busy downtown intersection.
A 29-year-old woman lay crumpled in the crosswalk as paramedics and firefighters crouched to tend to her. Another woman dressed in a peach blouse and dark coat hovered a few meters away.
When approached by a NEWSTALK 1010 reporter the woman said calmly that she had hit the woman on the ground with her car.
It happened just before 8 a.m. Tuesday at Richmond St W and Duncan St.
The woman who identified herself as Evelyn did not want to be recorded until she had been interviewed by police, but shared with NEWSTALK 1010 what happened from her point of view.
Evelyn says she had trying to make a left turn from westbound Richmond onto southbound Duncan in her dark red hatchback. She describes watching and waiting for pedestrians to cross Duncan. After a while, believing she had an safe opening she cut her wheel to the left. Then she heard a scream.
While Evelyn seems to have understood immediately that she had hit someone, she says she didn't see the victim.
"It's like she materialized out of nowhere," Evelyn told NEWSTALK 1010.
Toronto Paramedics tell NEWSTALK 1010 the victim suffered serious but non life-threatening injuries.
Toronto Police constable Clint Stibbe says a 64-year-old woman has been charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian. If convicted she faces a $150 fine plus surcharges and three demerit points.
While Evelyn did not explain where she had been headed, she tells NEWSTALK 1010 she had been trying to avoid driving on King St, two major streets south, where a pilot project that is forcing drivers to dramatically change their behaviour was launched on Sunday.
Asked to elaborate, Evelyn said she wanted to speak with police first.
Const. Stibbe says the King St makeover is no excuse for Tuesday's crash.
"A driver has a responsibility to operate a motor vehicle safely at all times, regardless if there's a road closure two blocks south."
The victim had a smart phone in hand as witnesses rushed to her side before first responders arrived. Stibbe could not say if she had been using it while crossing the street.