The Toronto Star reports on a gruesome death for a cyclist in downtown Toronto last night:
The crash occurred on Bloor St. near Bay St. around 9:45 p.m. when witnesses said a male cyclist in his 20s collided with a black Saab.
Witnesses said the cyclist hung onto the driver’s side of the car, which had its convertible top down, while the driver allegedly yelled at him to get off.
The vehicle then veered onto the eastbound lanes and mounted the curb, brushing against trees and poles, witnesses said.
“He was driving on the wrong side of the street and up on the curb trying to knock him off the car for about 100 metres,” said Ryan Brazeau, a worker with a crew laying sewer pipes on Bloor.
“Lots of people were watching and they couldn’t believe what was happening.”
As the car approached Avenue Rd., the cyclist fell off and he and his bike were dragged before being run over by the rear wheels, witnesses said.
The Toronto cyclist was taken to St. Michael’s Hospital with severe head injuries and died around midnight, police said.
I expect to hear a lot about this over the next few days. Either that or it’ll be quickly shoved down the memory hole . . .
Update: The Canadian Press report is careful to avoid directly stating that it was Michael Bryant at the wheel:
Toronto police Sgt. Tim Burrows said charges are expected to be laid, but the identity of the person in custody will not be released until then.
“We are anticipating that charges will be laid against him this morning, but at this point, the police are not willing to confirm the male’s identity as he has not yet been formally charged with anything.”
Sad that the tragedy of the biker’s death is to be overshadowed merely over a pair of poorly matched gauntlets, neither one of which big enough for either ego involved. Bravado, bicycle and motor vehicle share one thing in common. They make poor choices to bring along with you to a duel. Also sad, the invisible distortion of justice which no doubt is now unfolding in out of the way rooms and among other nameless characters whom have license to navigate around this world in even bigger vehicles.
For sure, for sure, no risks of career limiting moves by officers during the unraveling and burring of this tragic example of “Damn right mine’s bigger. Now stop smearing blood on my windscreen.”
Comment by DWM — September 1, 2009 @ 11:22
We’d already established that provincial premiers can get away with motor manslaughter while driving under the influence (see here, for example), but this case is different in a few particulars: the politico in question was merely a cabinet minister, and the reports so far make it sound much, much worse than mere motor misadventure causing death.
Comment by Nicholas — September 1, 2009 @ 12:35
Pit bulls are all barking….”KARMA”
RIP Darcy Sheppard and the 10,000 innocent dogs that Michael Bryant has killed
Comment by Sue — September 1, 2009 @ 16:45
Hi, just thought I would leave a comment to say i loved this post. I rarely read blogs due to the lack of quality reading. I would just like to say thank you for actually posting something of value and hope to be reading your posts again.
Comment by tony claims — September 8, 2009 @ 04:46