He is best known for the circumstances of his death; in an attempt to prove to a group of his partners at the firm that the glass in the
Toronto-Dominion Centre was unbreakable, he 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 attempted this stunt many times in the past, having previously bounced harmlessly off the glass. The event occurred in a small boardroom adjacent to a boardroom where a reception was being held for new articling students. Mr. Hoy was a noted and respected corporate and securities law specialist in Toronto.
In the words of
Toronto Police Service Detective Mike Stowell:
"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, 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]