'Everything is going to be OK,' streetcar driver assured Sammy Yatim

The last person who tried to help Sammy Yatim before he was shot by Toronto police Const. James Forcillo testified in Superior Court in Toronto Monday that he assured the 18-year-old that "everything is going to be OK."

Chad Seymour, a Toronto Transit Commission driver, remained on the streetcar with the knife-wielding teen on July 26, 2013, as panicked passengers fled the vehicle in fear. Forcillo, 32, faces second-degree murder and attempted murder charges for shooting Yatim, 18, shortly after passengers had left the crowded streetcar.

• VIDEO: Yatim shooting trial: Jury hears audio of faceoff with police
• VIDEO: Video reveals details of what happened the night Sammy Yatim was shot
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​​On the fourth day of Forcillo's trial, Seymour told the court that after the streetcar emptied, he asked Yatim, "Is everything OK? Can I do something for you?"

He said Yatim "turned around suddenly" and "the impression I had was he didn't know" that the driver was still on board.

Seymour also told court he asked Yatim, who'd told him that "everybody's trying to kill me," if he wanted to call someone.

After replying, "My dad," Seymour recalled saying, "I'm going to try to find you a phone. We're going to call your dad. Everything is going to be OK."

Earlier in the day, Seymour told the court his trip began normally as he drove the 505 Dundas streetcar on its route along Dundas Street West just before midnight. 

Suddenly, as the car approached Grace Street, Seymour said he saw and heard "a lot of panic" coming from the rear of the vehicle.

"Basically when I heard 'He has a knife,' a lot of people rushed to the front of the car," Seymour said. 

Seymour said he pushed two buttons to alert TTC supervisors and police about an on-board emergency. One of the buttons also turns on a microphone that allows supervisors to hear what's happening on board.

With frightened passengers crowding toward the front of the car, Seymour was able to bring the vehicle to a stop and open its doors.

"Once the doors opened, everybody kind of flooded out in two seconds," he testified. 

Seymour said the passengers were fleeing from Yatim who was advancing from the back of the streetcar at "a normal walking pace. It wasn't rushed at all."

Seymour said he remained in the operator's chair as the passengers rushed past him, out the front door and onto the street. He then explained to the court his decision to not follow those passengers out onto Dundas Street West. 

"I had an opportunity to get off behind the last person getting off, but it would have put me very close to Mr. Yatim," he said. Seymour told the court he wasn't comfortable being that close with his back to someone with a knife. 

"So I decided to stay where I was," he explained.

The court has already heard that Yatim boarded the westbound streetcar on Yonge Street. In the minutes before he was shot, Yatim exposed his penis to a group of passengers at the back of the streetcar and brandished a knife. Yatim was shot as he stood alone on the streetcar near the driver's seat. 

The jury already heard that Forcillo and his partner were the first to arrive, though several other police officers followed.

Forcillo yelled "drop your knife" repeatedly. Yatim said, "no" and the officer told Yatim if he took a step forward he would be shot.

Seymour, who recalled walking west from the streetcar, told court "it wasn't long after that I heard three shots."

Forcillo was the only one to fire, shooting Yatim eight times, court has heard. The first volley hit the teen's heart, severed his spine and fractured his arm as he fell to the floor of the streetcar. There was a brief pause and then six shots followed, including ones that hit Yatim's abdomen and penis.

Sgt. Dusan (Dan) Pravica arrived and used a conducted energy weapon on Yatim who was already fatally wounded. He kicked the knife out of the victim's hand and Yatim was handcuffed.