Edward Cartier bends down to examine the brake line on his GMC Jimmy, which he realized had been cut as he drove to work Monday morning.
ALLISON CROSS/TORONTO STAR
Allison Cross
Staff Reporter
Police are advising motorists to check their parked cars before hitting the road after brake lines were cut on nine vehicles in three Toronto neighbourhoods over the last week.
Edward Cartier was driving south on Bellefair Ave. in the Beach on his way to work early Monday morning when he realized his brakes weren’t working.
“I was concerned about possibly hitting a vehicle, which could have been a disaster,” said Cartier, a postal worker, who managed to pump his brakes a few times and stop his vehicle before it barrelled into traffic on Queen St. E.
Cartier also had the brake lines cut on his van.
“Anyone could have been killed,” he said. “Fortunately, I came to a stop.”
Police said six vehicles parked on Bellefair had their brake lines cut on Monday or Tuesday, and two vehicles belonging to the same family in the Granby and Church Sts. area of downtown had their lines cut on Tuesday.
On Sunday, a vehicle parked on Bathurst St., south of Dupont St., also had its brake line damaged.
Investigators could not immediately say if the three incidents were linked, but asked car owners who live in those areas to check their vehicles for signs of tampering.
Meanwhile, in Guelph, police have received reports about a series of similar incidents.
They are investigating six cases of vandalism, including cut brake lines and punctured tires that occurred Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in the northeast area of the city.
Toronto officers distributed leaflets Wednesday on Bellefair that warned motorists to check their vehicles, and also canvassed residents as they searched for clues and possible motives.
There were no reports of injuries.
Joe Rizza said the incident made him angry, rather than scared.
Rizza’s wife took the family minivan out Wednesday morning and realized she couldn’t stop the car. Their 12-year-old was in the van with her.
“At first she thought she just couldn’t reach the pedal,” Rizza said. “They went straight through a stop sign and had to put on the hand brake.”
There was little traffic on the road at 7:30 a.m., he said, but it would have been a different story at 8:30 a.m.
Another man who lives on Bellefair, a quiet street where many children live, said his car had also been tampered with, but declined to discuss it further.
“There’s potentially more cars out there that could be damaged, so we’re asking people to check under their cars for any signs of fluid leaks and when they get into their cars they should pump their brakes,” said Const. Wendy Drummond.
She said a similar case was reported in the city’s west end in the spring of 2009, but police don’t know if it’s related. Cars were damaged over a period of days and no arrests were made.
A public notice about the vandalism may compel other victims to come forward, Drummond said.
“Some people don’t use their vehicles right away, so we’ve had reports come in late,” she said.
A forensics team has gone through the cars to gather evidence, Drummond said, but residents should keep an eye out for strange behaviour.
With files from Curtis Rush
