A shortcut through a fence has been repaired after a 4-year-old was hit and killed by a train in Mississauga – Toronto

Crews were at the scene Wednesday morning, the day after a young child was struck and killed by a passing GO train in Mississauga, repairing a broken fence that runs alongside the train tracks.

At around 7.39pm on Tuesday, police said they were called to the area of ​​the railway tracks near Dundas Street and Cawthra Road where a child was hit by a train and pronounced dead at the scene.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said the child was four years old.

A railway line used by GO Transit Milton trains and commercial freight passes through the intersection, crossing both Cawthra Road and Dundas Street, and paralleling a street called Lolita Gardens.

Several witnesses told Global News that there was an opening in the fence and that many locals used it as a shortcut to get to Dundas Street instead of walking « all the way around ».

On Wednesday morning, crews were seen repairing the barrier, adding additional fencing where there were already existing gaps in a bid to completely block access to the train tracks.

A resident named Samantha said she often saw people crossing.

« I thought that because we have an open fence right next to the train tracks, it would be better for our community to close that fence and fix it so that there is no way for people to get through it, » she said.

« It’s really scary and not the first time I’ve heard that horn sound from a train, » Samantha said, referring to the same loud horn sound she heard on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Tayyab, who said he owns a garage nearby, told Global News that he repeatedly saw the hole in the fence being repaired for a short time and then broken again.

“This fence has been repaired several times. They fix it, and just after about a week, it’s [broken] again,” Tayabb said. « It happened so many times… It was completely open. »

Tayabb was working in his garage on Tuesday night when he said he heard the same loud, long horn from the train that he « usually » hears.

But when he got out and looked towards the tracks, he said he saw the train stop, something he had never seen before.

« I saw three children under the bridge and they were screaming and crying, » Tayabb said. He called 911.

Metrolinx confirmed on Tuesday that it had been « notified that a person had been struck by one of our trains west of Dixie GO station. »

A red and white CP sign, in English and French, saying “Danger. Private property. No violation. Violators will be prosecuted” was visible on the fence.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released a statement on Wednesday saying it had deployed an investigator following Tuesday’s incident.

« The TSB is gathering information and assessing the occurrence, » the statement said.

The TSB is an independent agency that investigates rail transportation occurrences with the goal of advancing safety. It does not determine civil or criminal liability.

— With files from Isaac Callan of Global News