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Cyclist involved in very public altercation with a Toronto-area driver hit with charges: reports

A Toronto-area cyclist has been charged, following an incident earlier in the week that, to many riders in the major Canadian city, likely prompted expectations that the opposite would happen.

Queen and Spadina can be one of the more nerve-wracking intersections in the city, both for drivers and cyclists. (Image: Google Maps)
Queen and Spadina can be one of the more nerve-wracking intersections in the city, both for drivers and cyclists. (Image: Google Maps)

A Toronto-area cyclist has been charged, following an incident earlier in the week that, to many riders in the major Canadian city, likely prompted expectations that the opposite would happen.

On Thursday, a rider was struck by a car at the intersection of Queen Street and Spadina Avenue, one of the busier crossings in the equally-busy Canadian metropolis. Specifically, the cyclist was hit broadside — T-boned, to use the language of any number of social media posts — and if nothing else, was left reeling. The driver, bystanders said, was traveling westbound through the intersection and made a fast, sudden left turn, a direction that took the vehicle straight into the cyclist’s eastbound path.

Published reports indicate that the driver behind the wheel of the car hasn’t been charged with the incident, according to the CBC. The cyclist, however, has — specifically with the retaliatory act of reaching into the vehicle, removing its keys, and tossing them down a nearby storm drain.

Toronto Police followed the rider, reports say, who left the scene before being stopped. “Reaching into a vehicle is risky at best,” said Clint Stibbe, a constable with the city’s police department. “You never know what the person inside that car is going to do when you do that.” No confirmation could be made as to whether or not the individual was hurt in the collision. Nonetheless, the issue at hand, police said, was the escalation of an existing conflict between drivers and cyclists in Canada’s biggest city — something authorities warned both parties against perpetuating.

“In the end,” Stibbe said, “what we’re looking at is a very adversarial relationship between cyclists and drivers. It is something that is occurring on a daily basis.”

The court of public opinion, meanwhile, certainly reflected that adversarial dynamic. The story was first reported when posted to Reddit and other social media sites, after bystanders captured the moment with their mobile phones and other devices. As a result, the discussion reached a fever pitch, underscoring the ongoing controversy between car and bike, and there was no shortage of opinion. “Throwing the dude’s keys down the drain was definitely not a cool move,” wrote one commenter. Others — even cyclists — sympathized, while still calling the rider’s actions “rude.” Drivers, admitting to the difficulty of balancing a car’s needs with those of a bike, said that efforts in sharing the road can be “challenging.”

Still others claimed that they would do the same thing if they traded places with the affected cyclist. “I’d do the same,” Tilly Bogle told the CBC. “The cars don’t care about the bikes.”