A middle-aged man was dragged to his death for at least 600 metres along Queen St. W. by a streetcar Tuesday morning as people frantically tried to alert the driver.

Police on bicycles riding alongside the two-car streetcar finally got the driver to stop at Claremont St., at least six blocks from where the man fell under the back wheels or was hit.

“He may very well have fallen,” said Sgt. Glen George of the man, described as in his 40s or 50s.

Wallace Maitland had just come out of the Tim Hortons west of Bathurst when he saw what appeared to be rags under the streetcar.

“It looked like just a pile of clothing (the streetcar driver) ran over, and then I saw an arm,” said Maitland, who stopped in horror when he saw a man trying to push himself free as the streetcar kept moving.

The man had crossed Queen in mid-block half a block east of Bathurst St. at 10:22 a.m., said George. The streetcar finally stopped just east of the junction with Claremont St. in front of the Sanko Japanese food shop.

“The streetcar driver, not knowing what happened, proceeded down Queen St.,” said George.

Pedestrians managed to flag down police on bicycles who sped after the streetcar to alert the driver, he said.

“The driver is doing not too bad. He’s shook up. It’s a sad day for everyone.”

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, which was sealed from Bathurst to Claremont to vehicles and pedestrians. About a half dozen people had been on the streetcar.

“There’s stuff up there you don’t want to see,” a police officer had warned pedestrians as the scene was cordoned off.

The busy stretch of shops, services and restaurants was expected to be closed for several hours, police said. Motorists who parked their cars on Queen were unable to retrieve them.

The body, covered in a tarp, remained trapped under the streetcar wheels until 12:42 p.m. after firefighters managed to hoist the back of the eight-tonne car about a third of a metre into the air.

Wrapped in the blue tarp, the body was put in an ambulance as police shielded the scene with orange blankets.

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As the ambulance drove away, investigators photographed the scene.

Police are urging anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them at Traffic Services, 416-808-1900.