Driving instructor hurt in crash after trying to avoid head-on collision

The driver behind the wheel of a powerful supercar was heading into oncoming traffic moments before a fatal crash in Richmond Hill on Sunday, according to the family of a man injured in the horrific collision.

CBC Toronto has learned that Katarzyna Tucholska, 32, a passenger in a 2017 blue Lamborghini, was killed in the crash. She was pronounced dead at the scene. York Regional Police have not provided any details about what caused the five-vehicle collision.

Driving instructor Fakhar uddin Malik, 52, was injured after his work vehicle was caught up in the crash.

“There was a blue Lamborghini coming head on toward him,” his son, Azhar Malik, told CBC Toronto.

In a news release, York police confirmed that the 2017 Lamborghini, as well as a 2010 white Dodge Caravan, a 2009 blue Toyota Corolla, a 2005 silver Toyota Corolla and a 2014 grey Mercedes were involved in the crash, which occurred around 6 p.m. Sunday on Stouffville Road between Bayview Avenue and Leslie Street.

A Toronto automotive company’s Instagram account appears to show the blue Lamborghini, as well as a white Lamborghini, driving on a nearby roadway before the collision.

Azhar says his father was on Stouffville Road, on his way westbound toward Bayview Avenue, shortly after 6 p.m., when he spotted the sports car approaching him. Stouffville Road is one lane in each direction in that stretch.

“He quickly tried to swerve away from the Lamborghini so it wouldn’t hit him head on,” Azhar said.

He said his father explained the sequence of events to him when they spoke on Sunday. Fakhar was treated in hospital for injuries to his neck, shoulders and back, and released.

Azhar says his father’s emergency manoeuvre may have set off a chain reaction of crashes that involved five other cars that were following his father’s vehicle.

​Police said Monday that the driver of the silver Toyota, a 44-year-old Toronto man, and his passenger, a 36-year-old Toronto woman, were both transported to hospital in life-threatening condition. Their conditions have been upgraded to stable.

The drivers of the three other vehicles sustained minor injuries, police said.

Police told CBC Toronto that earlier reports that the deceased woman had been ejected from the Lamborghini were false. An off-duty police officer and other passersby pulled the woman and the driver from the car because it was starting to catch fire.

The York Regional Police major collision investigation unit has taken over the probe into the crash. Investigators are looking to interview witnesses and collect any images or video that may help them, particularly in relation to the Lamborghini’s movements before the collision.

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Source: CBC News