Death of Garry Hoy

Garry Hoy (January 1, 1955 – July 9, 1993) was a lawyer for the law firm of Holden Day Wilson in Toronto. He died in an act of accidental autodefenestration.

Death

In an attempt to prove to a group of prospective articling students that the glass in the Toronto-Dominion Centre was unbreakable, Hoy threw himself through a glass wall on the 24th story and fell to his death after the window frame gave way.[1] He had apparently performed this stunt many times in the past, having previously bounced harmlessly off the glass. The event occurred in a small conference room adjacent to a boardroom where a reception was being held for new articling students. Hoy was a noted and respected corporate and securities law specialist in Toronto. He was a professional engineer, having completed his engineering degree before studying law.

Three of the Toronto-Dominion Centre's towers: (left to right) the Ernst & Young Tower, TD Bank Tower, and TD North Tower. Hoy fell from the TD Bank Tower (called the Toronto Dominion Bank Tower in 1993).

Toronto Police Service Detective Mike Stowell reported that:

"At this Friday night party, Mr. Hoy did it again and bounced off the glass the first time. However, he did it a second time and this time crashed right through the middle of the glass."

In another interview, the firm's spokesman mentioned that the glass in fact did not break (so he was technically correct about the glass being unbreakable), but popped out of its frame, leading to Hoy's fatal plunge.

Hoy's death contributed to the closing of Holden Day Wilson in 1996, at the time the largest law firm closure in Canada.[2]

In popular culture

Hoy's experience was recreated by MythBusters in the episode "Vacuum Toilet, Biscuit Bazooka, Leaping Lawyer", and was featured in numerous other television shows, often with some details changed.

For his unusual death, Hoy was recognized with a Darwin Award in 1996.[3] His unusual death was also re-enacted by Joseph Fiennes in the 2006 movie The Darwin Awards.

The incident is also recounted in Philip Slayton's Bay Street: A Novel.[4]

This unusual way to die was recreated in the third episode of the first season of the television series 1000 Ways to Die.

References

  1. ↑ Mikkelson, Barbara; Mikkelson, David P. (21 January 2007). "Through a Glass, Quickly". Snopes. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  2. ↑ McNish, Jaquie (14 March 2007). "Law firm Goodman and Carr shutting down". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
  3. ↑ Mikkelson, Barbara; Mikkelson, David P. (1996). "1996 Darwin Awards: Lawyer Aloft". Darwin Awards. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  4. ↑ Slayton, Philip (2014). Bay Street: A Novel. Oblonsky Editions. ISBN 9780993638909.
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