After weeks of evading police, a 海角社区官网man has been arrested in connection with an April hit-and-run at 海角社区官网Metropolitan University that left five people injured, police said, adding he was caught following a “road rage incident” in Scarborough on Thursday.
On the afternoon of April 15, a driver drove through Nelson Mandela Walk, a pedestrian-only walkway at TMU, striking multiple people.听
Four people were reported injured on the pedestrian walkway, including two who were sent to hospital 鈥 one with minor injuries and the other with serious but not life-threatening injuries. A fifth victim with non-life-threatening injuries was later identified, Toronto聽.听
The following day, on April 16, police released a name and photo of the suspect, saying he was driving a green four-door Honda Accord with stolen licence plates at the time of the incident.
That suspect was then found on Thursday following a “road rage incident” near聽, police said, and he was “subsequently arrested on numerous outstanding warrants.”
Two victims were assaulted at the scene of the road rage incident, police told the Star. Their injuries weren’t life-threatening, and they weren’t taken to hospital, officials added.
The vehicle used in the TMU hit-and-run has been recovered by police, investigators said, but they would not elaborate on where or when it was found.听A different vehicle, also reported stolen, was recovered following Thursday’s incident, police said.
Ryan Petroff, 23, is now facing 24 charges, including attempted murder, sexual assault with a weapon, choking, assault causing bodily harm and four counts of failure to comply with a probation order.
Officials declined to provide information about the circumstances of Petroff’s sexual assault charge, citing a need to protect the victim’s identity.
Duty Insp. Todd Jocko told reporters at the scene on April 15 that none of the people injured were students or staff at TMU.
鈥淚t may have been an intentional鈥 targeting of a specific person on the walkway, Jocko said聽at the scene, adding police believed it was an 鈥渋solated鈥 incident and not a random attack.
When asked about the possibility one of the people was targeted, Jocko said: 鈥淚t appears to be parties that are known to each other,鈥 but he did not detail the nature of their relationship.
Court records show Petroff was on probation for various offences at the time of the hit-and-run and was listed as living at various addresses over the years.
In the summer of 2023, he was sentenced to three years of probation for uttering threats to multiple people 鈥 two of whom share the same last name 鈥 earlier that year.
A few months later, he was charged with stealing a scooter from a store in Markham, damaging a GPS tracker on the scooter and failing to comply with his previous probation order. He was found guilty of the latter two offences and sentenced to 18 months of probation.
He was scheduled to appear in court at the 海角社区官网Regional Bail Centre on Friday morning.
With files from Calvi Leon, Jennifer Pagliaro and Mark Colley
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