

Chris Fox, CP24.com





A man is dead and a suspect is in custody after a hit-and-run crash in the city’s New Toronto neighbourhood late Monday night.

Police were first called to Garnett Janes Road near Ninth Street at around 11 p.m. for a report of the sound of gunshots.

Upon arrival, officers located the 48-year-old male victim on the ground with obvious injuries.

They say that their investigation suggests that the male was struck by a Dodge vehicle that subsequently fled the scene.

He was rushed to hospital in life-threatening condition but was later pronounced dead. His daughters have identified him as Joseph Stele.

The suspect vehicle, meanwhile, was located near Sixth Street and Lake Shore Boulevard just after 5 a.m.

Police say that they have taken a 40-year-old man into custody in connection with the fail-to-remain collision.

Constantinos Hondrocostas, of London, Ontario, has been charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and drug impaired driving.

He is expected to appear in court later this afternoon.

Police are still working to determine whether shots were in fact fired. Const. Clint Stibbe told C24 that the victim did not sustain any gunshot wounds.

As for the circumstances of the collision itself, Stibbe said that police are still unsure of what exactly transpired. .

“We can’t jump to conclusions at to what the chain of events were. Whether this was a situation of a person crossing the street who was struck or if there was some sort of interaction or altercation between the individuals that were in the vehicle and the one outside the vehicle is something we will look at,” he said.

The victim was reportedly without vital signs at the scene, according to initial reports.

Stibbe said that several individuals did attempt to provide CPR to the victim, however it is unclear whether they were able to revive him at any point.

“Anyone that did offer first aid to that individual I want to say thank you,” Stibbe said. “The reality is that as a society we have a job to do in the sense that we have to take care of each other and when serious incidents happen like this and we have a portion of the public that steps up to help, I think they should be recognized for that.”

Stibbe said that the investigation into the collision remains “very active.” He said that investigators are eager to speak with anyone who was in the area last night and may have seen something.

Police are also asking local residents, businesses and drivers with vehicles equipped with cameras to check their footage between Monday at around 11 p.m. and Tuesday at 4:30 a.m.

Anyone with relevant information can call Toronto police or Crime Stoppers.