TORONTO – A five-year-old girl who was struck and killed by a garbage truck last week will be remembered on Tuesday as protesters gather at City Hall to demand accountability.
Kayleigh Callaghan-Belanger died after she was hit at the corner of Cliffside and East Haven drives on Thursday.
Kayleigh was one of a group of four children walking home after school around 4 p.m. Two other children, ages six and 12, were hit and suffered non life-threatening injuries. The fourth child wasn’t hurt.
Residents say the neighbourhood, west of Kingston Road and Midland Avenue, lacks the proper signage to indicate it’s a school zone. Witnesses said the driver was travelling at a high rate of speed before the crash.
A protest was held at Toronto’s city hall at 3:45 p.m. Organizers, who are not affiliated with Kayleigh’s family, wrote on the group’s Facebook page that the city vehicle had no business being in the area at that time.
Click here for the Facebook group.
Meanwhile, a service for Kayleigh will be held Tuesday at the McDougall & Brown Funeral Home at 2900 Kingston Rd., just east of St. Clair Avenue. Her funeral will be held on Wednesday at Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church on Birchmount Road.
Kayleigh leaves behind two sisters and a brother. Her mother is pregnant with a fourth sibling.
With files from CityNews.ca staff
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The comments on this article are really all over the place. The facts are quite clear 1. Garbage
Trucks need to collect garbage. 2. The investigation as to the speed of the truck is not over 3. Obviously the tarp on the fence was placed their to protect the memorial. 4. 12 year old walk their siblings home everyday in all areas of the city. 5. Better street safety would have prevented this tragedy. I am a resident who lives on Cliffside dr. If you agree please sign the petition we have created at change.org search “Cliffside”
So quick to lay blame> luckily we dont live in the old western days or the driver would have been hung by now. Let the police do the job we hire them for. If the driver is at fault he will be charged. The sign might say no trucks but how would they pick up the garbage. You want to drag it to another street. How do your groceries get delivered. Driveways get paved. Snow gets removed. Wagons dont work. And its good to know some people can tell the speed of a large truck as it goes down the street. We wont need radar anymore as these people have the ability to estimate the speed of a moving object. Simply amazing. Try telling a judge in court that you can tell the speed of a moving truck. They are large and noisy even at a slow speed.And if the driver is at fault Im sure he will have to somehow live with it. Its tragic but its also a accident. Not a murder. A horrible mistake that happen all too many times. Which is why every one is required to have insurance. So unless the laws have changed and we can now sentence and hang a man on a few statements made by a few angry people let this run its course and carry on with your perfect little lives as you have never made a mistake. God love the non sinners
The “private contractor” west of Yonge St. is not doing a better job than City crews when it comes to these “one-man”, right-side-drive automated garbage/recycling trucks. Where I live, GFL, Inc. is subjecting our neighbourhood to these “one-man” automated trucks for both garbage and recycling and we have had ongoing problems and neighbours here have complained to 311, apparently to no avail. To my knowledge, so far, we have had three (3) green bins on my street that were run over by the rear wheels of the “one-man” truck—- two were damaged and one was crushed! I have personally witnessed garbage bags dropped out of the top of the truck into the street and then driven over, together with bottles, cans, cardboard and broken glass littering the street on recycling days. The City says that these “automated” trucks are much faster and more efficient than traditional “rear-loader” trucks with two-man crews. Well, they may be FASTER and more cost-effective, but they are ten times messier than the traditional “rear packer” garbage truck—- and are more prone by their speed to cause extensive litter and damage, as we have seen on my street. The “one-man” automated garbage trucks (City trucks, as well as GFL) should only be used on main drags such as Eglinton, Lawrence, Wilson, Jane, etc…, NOT in residential areas. And now, a life has been lost. How tragic…
Where is the justice for the driver in this? Has he been charged? I seriously hope so! He needs some serous consequences.
I feel sorry for everyone involved.
Until all the facts are in we should judge.
If the driver did something wrong then he should be charged.
Did anyone notice the no truck sign on the cornor?
I believe the cut-backs by the city is partially to blame here. Workers haveto work harder and drive faster to make up time.
To make up time? Or to match the efficiency of the private contractors?
First thing i like to say is “My condolence to the family”.
Can you please stop and open your eyes,It has to do nothing with cut backs.
If it happen west of yonge st. then you would be blaming the sub contracting out of work.
If you want to return to the old days at City Hall , vote in a lefty councillor on the next election.
Rob Ford is doing a good job.
why were 3 children apparently left to be looked after by a 12 year old?
A twelve year old sibling is allowed to babysit. They teach the babysitting course in school to that age group. My kids took it. You’re barking up the wrong tree.
I believe that finally POLICE should start working in Toronto.
I saw so many times as those Garbage trucks, Taxi drivers do whatever they want on the road.
Just three days ago I saw garbage truck “flew” through 2 stop signs with no even a hint of slowing down. Do they have some immunity from the road rules?
They do have immunity, they are protected by their unions. And jobs are secure regardless of violations.
Did that fence have any bearing on the accident? that tarping shouldn’t be allowed, not only is it dangerous because it blocks your view, it is incredibly ugly as well, the neighbours should take their collective testes to the owner of that house and get the eyesore removed.
Protest the unions, for protecting and defending their speeding driver. Tragic situation that would likely not have happened west of Yonge St, with their privatized garbage provider. Whose drivers are not 64.
These people certainly do not represent the “residents” of Cliffside. The truck had every reason to be there as it was garbage day and the truck was collecting on my street. Because it was picking up it certainly was NOT travelling at a high rate of speed. It is true that large vehicles and children do not mix but that is the fault of city cutbacks and overworked union members. I often have to dodge city garbage trucks collecting in school zones at 8:45 AM. This is a dangerous schedule to follow. Further, why has there never been a crossing guard at this corner?
EA
Elias, what an ignorant comment “These people certainly do not represent the “residents” of Cliffside”
A little girl lost her life !!!!
I also live in the area and know how dangerous that alleyway is, how can you justify that he was not speeding, were you there?
Debbie,
Name calling is the refuge of weak thinking. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. There is no wherefore or why. It simply is. And it can be heart rending. Unfortunately, terrible tragedy often begets an outpouring of misdirected grief and anger. Our time would be better spent in prayer for the girl and her family and the driver and his family during the Mass tomorrow. Maybe then there could be some healing.
You might live in the area but we and our neighbours live right on Cliffside Drive, within sight of the memorial. And no the protesters do not represent our views. Our trash collectors are good and responsible people. They take great care in school zones, especially at the beginning and end of the day. The only real answer that would safeguard every child in the city is for all of us to pay much higher taxes and have Toronto crews pick-up after hours. Try and find consensus on that.
EA
Someone ask why there were kids without any supervision on the road?
ur trying to reason with someone who just said in the same sentence that because it was collecting it was NOT going at a high rate of speed, then later said he’s had to dodge trucks collecting garbage in a school zone..and apparently trucks and children do mot mix, but it’s the citys’ fault for cut backs…good luck…
I dodge the garbage trucks because they are standing still and blocking my progress as they pick up the bins. Not because they are driving recklessly.
In the world of the blind the one eyed man is king.