SUV without plates removed from Queens Quay streetcar tunnel
Police called to tunnel after 4 a.m. to find SUV stuck on tracks, driver and licence plates gone
The 509 Harbourfront streetcar was unable to enter Union Station all morning after an SUV was driven into the Queens Quay tunnel and got stuck on the streetcar tracks.
Police were called to the scene shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday for a car stuck in the tunnel, Toronto police Const. Rob Reid told CBC Toronto.
When they arrived, they found a grey Ford SUV askew on the tracks.
The plates had been removed and there was no sign of the driver or any other occupants, Reid said.
But, he noted, "there are all kinds of numbers on the vehicle, so we will find the owner eventually."
The streetcar platform is also a "video-rich environment," Reid added, so police expect to get good images of the driver.
The situation meant that the 509 and 510 streetcars had to turn back without entering the Queens Quay tunnel. Shuttle buses were operating from Union to the CNE loop, and from Union to Queen.
But shortly before 1 p.m., the TTC tweeted that the tracks were clear and service on both streetcars had resumed.
ALL CLEAR: The delay at Queen's Quay tunnel has cleared. 510 Spadina and 509 Harbourfront have returned to regular routing. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TTC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TTC</a>
—@TTCnoticesThis is not the first time a car has ended up in the Queens Quay streetcar tunnel. Last February, a man was fined $425 for driving his SUV into the tunnel, which he blamed on his GPS system.
At that time, a spokesperson for the TTC noted that the tunnel entrance is clearly marked, yet similar incidents have happened before.
In the February incident, a crane that typically lifts and carries rail cars in the subway system had to be brought in to extract the SUV.
Meanwhile, Reid had a reminder for drivers: "People driving in the city need to pay attention to the signs."