Toronto Police believe alcohol was a factor in a dramatic hit and run crash that has left a 21-year-old woman fighting for her life.
Const. Clint Stibbe says the woman was hit by white Toyota Rav4 and sent flying as she crossed Huron St on the north side of College St just before 2:30 a.m. Thursday. The driver appears to have been going the wrong way on the southern stretch of Huron moments before the crash. That driver did not stick around after the impact.
Stibbe believes the fact that there was a witness to the woman's trauma may have saved her life.
The impact of the crash sent the woman sailing through the air, landing behind some construction fencing and a dumpster.
"The witness that saw her get struck had to actually search for her to find her," Stibbe tells NEWSTALK 1010. "We're lucky that somebody actually saw her. Otherwise I think we would have been looking at a fatality."
Stibbe says a 19-year-old male suspect was located in Forest Hill.
Arrested is the 19-year-old driver, identified as Rylan Balappa-Lawes, of Mississauga, and he's been charged with:
1) Criminal negligence causing bodily harm
2) Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm
3) Fail to stop after accident causing bodily harm
4) Impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm
5) Over 80 mgs operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm
(with files from Siobhan Morris)