Alleged road rage incident in Toronto caught on camera
Toronto police are investigating an incident of alleged road rage against a cyclist that was caught on camera.
Dafydd Hughes told CTV News Toronto he was travelling along College Street around 7 p.m. on May 30 when he was cut off by an angry driver.
Hughes had merged into the lane to go around a vehicle that was merging right.
A camera mounted to his bike captures the sound of honking. A red vehicle is then seen driving in front of him at a high rate of speed before stopping, despite the green light at the intersection.
“It was close enough to scare me,” Hughes said. “The motorist cut me off and started shouting some pretty awful things—a lot of homophobic stuff and eventually a threat.”
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
The driver could be heard on the video yelling at Hughes, calling him stupid before using homophobic slurs.
The light at the intersection turns red and the driver continues to yell as Hughes asks him if he is okay.
“It felt scary, but also normal,” Hughes said
“This sort of violence and aggression is something that you face as a cyclist in Toronto, not consistently, not every day, but certainly enough to have it always in your mind.”
Lawyer and cycling advocate David Shellnutt said he was shocked to see the incident but not surprised. He said while there was no contact, there was a “clear move with the vehicle to weaponized it” and that this could lead to dangerous driving or threat of assault charges.
“We have cases where vehicles have been weaponized against cyclists or drivers have gotten out of their car and physically assaulted cyclists,” he said.
“This is a serious issue on our roads that needs to be addressed by all levels of government to the very top.”
In a statement to CTV News Toronto, Deputy Mayor Jennifer Mekelvie said these kinds of incidents are not acceptable.
“I understand there is a police investigation underway, and I'm sure the police will be dedicating every resource needed to follow up on that case,” she said.
“It's extremely disappointing to hear about incidences of road rage like that towards cyclists are happening and continue to happen. It's not acceptable. I hope the cyclist is OK and that justice will be done in this case and any case like it.”
Toronto police confirmed a report was filed on June 1 and they are investigating.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Mike Walker
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.