Toronto Police are appealing for the passenger of the SUV that allegedly ran over Matthew Dreaver, 16, five years ago to come forward.
Det. Sgt. Brandon Price says that he doesn’t believe that the passenger is culpable in the death of Dreaver, who was killed just before 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 17, 2019, after he and a 14-year-friend had an interaction with two men in the parking lot of a Shoppers Drug Mart in the area of Woodbine Ave. and O’Connor Dr.
Price said following that interaction the two still unidentified men got back into their SUV and allegedly chased the boys, who fled on foot before finding Dreaver and his pal in Stan Wadlow Park in the Cedarvale and Cosburn Aves. area.
The detective said the driver allegedly mounted the park’s curb, went over the sidewalk, hit the grass and ran over Dreaver who was later pronounced dead in hospital. The passenger previously got out of the SUV and was chasing them on foot before the alleged fatal hit-and-run, Price said.
“I am making an appeal directly to the man who was the passenger of the vehicle on that night in 2019,” Price said at a Friday news conference “I believe that you were not in the vehicle at the time the driver ran over and killed Matthew Dreaver. I also believe that you did not know the driver was going to run over Matthew. I am looking to speak with you as a witness to this event. Keeping a secret like that is a very heavy burden.”
Surrounded by family members and Dreaver’s best friend, Brooklyn, Matthew’s mother Kelly Jones tearfully described her son as “loving, fun, selfless, thoughtful and charismatic.”
“Matthew was taken from us five years ago,” Jones said. “It destroyed our family. Left us with many unanswered questions. Why? How could this happen to my child? Matthew was just a 16-year-old boy who had his life ahead of him before he was robbed of that so please if someone you know has information that could bring us closure finding his murderer please speak out.”
Brooklyn told reporters through tears that if he was still alive, “Matthew would have been going to college by now. I think he would be living a great life, working his own job, being a strong, independent Indigenous man.”
Security camera footage from the area captured the suspect vehicle described as a 2007-2012, black or blue, Hyundai Sante Fe four-door SUV.
The driver was described as white male, 20-35 years old, with a round face, standing 5-foot-10 to 5-foot-11 with short to balding hair.
The passenger was described as a white male, with short to balding hair, with the height and weight similar to the drivers.
Price says following the fatal hit-and-run, the driver of the SUV drove off camera and picked up the passenger, who was chasing the boys on foot, and then fled east over the O’ Connor Dr. bridge to Scarborough.
“A person who has a fuse so short that they will do this to a 16-year-old boy is a danger to our community,” Price said. “It’s a terrible event. It’s a tragic ending to a life that had so much future ahead so it’s heartbreaking to see.”
Investigators are asking witnesses, or anyone who was in the area at the time that may have information to call police at 416-808-7100, or contacat Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at 222tips.com.