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Wait a minute... hes a FORMER Attorney general and cabinet minister but STILL an MPP.
So where are the usual suspects calling for his suspension if not resignation? Mcguinty? Miller? Oh i forgot hes one of your gang. Right.
If this story is true Bryant deserves the death penalty:
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Witnesses describe angry confrontation between cyclist and driver
September 01, 2009
Henry Stancu, Robyn Doolittle and John Rieti
Torstar News Service
A charge of criminal negligence causing is possible for former attorney general Michael Bryant after a 32-year-old cyclist was struck and killed last night, police say.
Toronto police Sgt. Tim Burrows said investigators are reviewing a range of charges in the fata accident, including the criminal negligence. But he also cautioned that Bryant could be relased without charges.
"Very literally, he could walk out of here without any charges being laid, but that doesn't mean he couldn't be charged further down the road," Burrows said.
Sources told theglobeandmail.com that Bryant will face two charges.
Traffic services has received "a significant number" of calls from witnesses this morning. Burrows thinks a final decision will be made in the next few hours.
Friends identified the victim as Darcy Allan Sheppard, 32, a bicycle courier who recently quit his job. His friends called him Al and said he was the father of a young child.
Witnesses described an angry confrontation between the driver of a black Saab convertible and the cyclist. They said the vehicle was driving on the wrong side of the road and drove up on to a curb trying to knock the cyclist off for about 100 metres.
Burrows would not confirm reports the cyclist jumped on the car after a collision around 9:45 p.m. on Bloor St., just west of St. Thomas St., and began fighting with the driver.
Police are also reportedly questioning a female passenger who was in the convertible at the time.
Witnesses on the scene 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 veered onto the eastbound lanes and mounted the curb, brushing against trees and poles. The victim was apparently run over by the rear wheels of the vehicle, witnesses said.
"Lots of people were watching and they couldn't believe what was happening," said Ryan Brazeau, a worker with a crew laying sewer pipes on Bloor.
One construction worker told CTV news he heard the squeal of tires and saw the car racing the wrong way down the street past their construction site.
Then he saw the cyclist hanging onto the car as it mounted the curb.
"The guy hanging onto the car hit the mailbox, hit the road, (then) . . . the car ran over him with the back tires," he said. "The guy bounced and the car sped off . . . the person was there just bleeding," he said.
The witness said he felt sick to his stomach when he saw the cyclist "bleeding from his head, his mouth."
Another construction worker said the driver sounded "very, very angry."
Sheppard was taken to St. Michael's Hospital with serious head injuries and died around midnight.
Burrows said a large portion of the incident was captured on surveillance video and that investigators are working to fill in the gaps.
Police did say alcohol was not involved.
"What we do know at this point in time is there was an altercation that occurred last night on Bloor St. We're appealing for any witnesses and we're going to open up a timeline on this case," Burrows said.
"Anybody who was on Bloor St. last night between twenty after nine and ten to ten, anywhere between Church St. and Avenue Rd. that saw, heard, or believed that something was out of the ordinary, any little piece of information is going to help fill in some of the gaps we have in the investigation."
Bryant has reportedly been in contact with a lawyer, and if he is charged, will appear in Old City Hall.
Bryant was first elected MPP for St. Paul's in 1999 and won re-election in 2003 and 2007. He was awarded Now Magazine's Best Toronto MPP for 2008.
Residents on a small street in the St. Paul's riding said they were shocked to hear about the alleged incident.
"I just saw the headline," one man said, who asked not to be named.
"He's a busy guy, we don't see him around very much."
When a Star reporter visited Bryant's two-storey Victorian home on Foxbar Rd., at the intersection of St. Clair W. and Avenue Rd., a woman closed the curtains. She could then be seen in the window talking on the phone while two children played.
Bryant was Ontario's youngest-ever attorney general, serving throughout the McGuinty government's first four-year term.
Bryant legalized paralegals, fixed election dates, banned pit bulls, overhauled the human rights system, re-created the Law Reform Commission, re-established civilian oversight of police and depoliticized Justice of the Peace appointments.
Bryant, who also served as Aboriginal Affairs Minister, stepped down as Ontario's economic development minister in May to become president and CEO of the new Invest Toronto corporation chaired by Mayor David Miller.
In a statement issued this morning, Miller expressed "sincere condolences to the family and friends of the cyclist who died last night following an incident in the Yorkville area."
But citing the ongoing police investigation, he declined to comment further. |
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