Toronto police say they may lay charges against a cyclist who posted a video to Instagram in which he is seen weaving in and out of traffic while balanced on one wheel.
The cyclist posed the minute-long video to the Instagram account for My Little Bike Shop on College Street West on June 22.
In it, the cyclist is seen heading southbound on Yonge Street with the front wheel of his bike in the air. At one point, the cyclist narrowly avoids a collision with a moving minivan after cutting across its front bumper. The cyclist is then shown nearly hitting a Toronto Hydro vehicle before veering to the left at the last second. Subsequent to that, he is seen biking on a busy sidewalk for a short period of time before returning to the road.
On Friday morning, Toronto Police posted the video to their Instagram account with a message for the cyclist.
“Thanks for the video, great riding skill, but dangerous cycling behaviour… YOU now have our attention,” the message from Const. Clint Stibbe reads. “Your video shows evidence of careless driving under the HTA, as well as several by-law offences. You have put several pedestrians in harm’s way as a result of your actions.”
Stibbe told CP24 that police need someone to come forward with the date and time of the incident in order for police to be able to lay charges against the cyclist.
He said that the behavior documented in the video is “outrageous” and could have easily brought about an accident.
“This is essentially a perfect example of poor cyclist behavior,” he said. “He could have been killed. He went through a red light between oncoming traffic.”
Stibbe said that police could charge the cyclist with careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act, which can carry a fine of up to $2,000.
The cyclist, however, dismissed Stibbe’s concerns in a message posted to the My Little Bike Shop Instagram account on Friday morning.
“It's kind of heartbreaking to see my little poppa wheelie clip being posted on the Toronto Police Instagram account. I say heartbreaking because my video is surrounded by surveillance videos of murders, stabbings, shootings, robberies and sexual assaults,” he said. “I never crashed, I never hit anyone, and didn't commit any sort of hit & run. I never even made / make anyone slow down, hit their brakes or cause them to pull last second maneuvers. Yes, maybe a little dangerous, but I am a expert, have been doing this my entire life and have NEVER had an accident or caused an accident while on the streets of Toronto, while on my bike (one wheel or two).”
Police say that they believe the incident took place near Yonge Street and Carlton Street. Anyone who may have witnessed it is being urged to come forward.
