SUV strikes brick wall, severs gas main in Vaughan

A Monday night collision in Vaughan, Ont., pushed an SUV off the street and into a brick wall on Velmar Drive, causing a gas leak and prompting the evacuation of eight homes nearby.

"One vehicle was headed eastbound, another vehicle was headed westbound," said York Regional Police Acting Sergeant Adam Pyke.

The westbound vehicle turned south and collided with the SUV, which Pyke said then hit a brick wall "and severed a gas main."

The vehicle came to rest with its front wheels up in the air.

Paul Badwel was putting his grandchildren to bed when he heard a big bang outside. Moments later a neighbour came knocking to warn him of the danger.

"He said: 'You have to leave the home because there is a big gas leak,'" Badwel said during an interview on Monday night.

Crews remain at the home on Velmar Drive, near Rutherford Road and Saint Clare Boulevard.