Toronto police have pressed charges against a motorist following a recorded incident where a collision involving a cyclist was captured on camera. The police took action on Friday by arresting Yuri Karpenko, 28, who now faces charges of dangerous operation of a conveyance causing bodily harm.
Caught on camera
The incident, which took place at around 8:30 a.m. on July 20 was caught via a dash-cam video recorded by an Uber driver. The footage appeared to depict the driver colliding with the cyclist and subsequently driving over them.
Frightening video shows driver hitting and dragging Toronto cyclist
According to authorities, the cyclist thankfully sustained minor wounds.
Toronto police reported that both the cyclist and the motorist halted at a red signal at the crossroads while journeying north on the same road. The driver of the brown sedan was purportedly arguing with the cyclist. When the signal switched to green and the cyclist starting their ride through the intersection, the accused seems to increase their speed and then hit the rider.
Driver almost runs over cyclist’s head
Subsequently, the cyclist falls off their bicycle, as the driver maneuvered to the side of the road to await the arrival of the police.
After the incident David Shellnutt tweeted that the collision was an example of the dangers riders face daily, and that more can be done to prevent them.
“Today we were tweeting about ongoing incidents of police ticketing cyclists for minor infractions. The underlying point being that it is a hugely ineffective and misguided use of resources. To horrifically buttress our point, a community member shared a video with us of a motorist seemingly intentionally ramming into a cyclist from behind and driving over them. This is the road violence that cyclists deal with every single day in cities like Toronto. It’s not an aberration, it’s endemic,” he posted. “It’s why we cringe and protest when the cycling community is targeted by police while motorists run rampage across the city putting all vulnerable road users at risk, daily. We need a societal shift in thinking and laws that immediately revoke someone’s ability to drive when they are caught doing such horrific acts as what this driver has perpetrated here.”
Community Update/TRIGGER Road Violence:
Friday @TorontoPolice arrested Yurii Karpenko & charged him w Dangerous Operation of a Conveyance Causing Bodily Harm CC s. 320.13 for attacking our client w his vehicle on July…
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