TORONTO

More than a dozen pedestrians were hit by cars and one man was killed in just over four hours as heavy rain fell across the city Wednesday.

Toronto Police say officers responded to an unusually high 34 collisions involving injuries, including the 13 pedestrians struck, between 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

“We typically respond to six personal injury collisions a day on average,” Const. Clint Stibbe, of Traffic Services, said Thursday.

While the rainstorm was “a contributing factor,” he said most collisions involving pedestrians are caused by human error.

“When pedestrians are struck at an intersection, it’s often caused by driver error,” Stibbe explained. “And when people are hit mid-block, it’s usually pedestrian error.”

The most serious of Wednesday’s many collisions occurred in Scarborough.

A 47-year-old man was killed while attempting to cross Markham Rd. at Eglinton Ave. E., Stibbe said.

A southbound Nissan Rogue, driven by a 67-year-old man, made a left turn and hit the pedestrian.

“After the pedestrian was struck, he was thrown into the northbound lanes,” Stibbe said. “The man was then struck by a Honda Civic, driven by a 54-year-old man.”

The pedestrian died at the scene. He is the 56th fatality on the city’s roads so far this year.

Stibbe said mid-November to mid-December is the “worst” time of year for collisions involving pedestrians.

Pedestrians often wear dark clothing, making them less visible once the sun sets, Stibbe said, noting as the days become shorter, there are more hours of darkness and more pedestrians get hit by cars.

But once there is snow on the ground, pedestrians are less likely to be struck, he said.

“During the winter, we actually don’t see many pedestrians struck because the snow makes them more visible.”

chris.doucette@sunmedia.ca