Toronto Taxi Tragedy

In a recent tragic turn of events, a taxi driver in Toronto was killed when two 18-year-olds raced their parents' cars along Mt. Pleasant Road on the edge of downtown when one of them struck his taxi. The taxi driver was Tahir Khan, 40, of Pakistan. What makes this story tragic was the fact that Khan was three days shy of becoming a Canadian citizen. He had immigrated here from Pakistan, and was planning to bring his wife and sick mother to care for them. The kids who caused his death are from a rich, well-to-do family, the cars they were racing were Mercedes Benzs, and the minimum price of a house in the area of their residences is above $800,000.

The young drivers who caused the accident were unharmed, a tribute to the safety of Mercedes air bags. They were street racing, travelling 160 kph on a road with a speed limit of 50, when one of them collided with Khan, pushing his taxi into a pole, and instant death.

Police found a copy of Need For Speed in their cars, and now blame their addiction to the game for this tragedy. Which is shocking to me. I grew up on First Person Shooter games like Doom and Wolf3d, I played NFS and GTA, yet you don't find me racing through downtown Toronto running down people for fun. And there are lots like me. If you want to blame someone here, blame two young people from a rich background who did not know how to be responsible and accountable for their actions. Whether its bad parenting or just bad judgment, as a result of their reckless act they have destroyed many lives. Theirs, their parents, the cab driver and his family, and anyone he was supporting back home.

The two men are charged with criminal negligence causing death. These are young men who should have understood the possible, and likely, consequences of their actions. If found guilty, the court should make an example of them. Not house arrest, not weekends in jail. Prison. For Life.

Tags: Toronto Street Racing