You could see some of the early positions being staked out Tuesday in the case of the death of bicycle courier Darcy Allan Sheppard under the wheels of a car driven by former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant in Toronto.
First, the premier of the province of Ontario -- Bryant's former boss and potential rival for leadership of the provincial Liberal party -- talked about how "sad" and "tragic" it is that "events that unfold inside a minute can have such a profound impact on one's life." I felt the suggestion of error and panic had been placed in the mind of every person listening to his words in Ontario. Every potential juror, for sure.
Then, some of the media reported on Sheppard's hard life and his struggles with alcohol, and the suggestion that he had been intoxicated only an hour before the incident. Some were quoted as saying that he was a good person, friendly, funny; others noted he could be a hothead, and several media reported that police had asked him to leave the home of his then-current girlfriend just before the incident.
OK. Upstanding guy in flashy Saab panics. Drunken bike courier who is known to police. Do you see a theme here?
That Bryant has been charged with serious charges -- criminal negligence causing death (which carries a maximum term of life in prison) and dangerous driving causing death (max. penalty, 14 years) -- should hearten any cycling advocate who has seen cyclist-killers escape with minor charges, or no charges at all, because there was little evidence beyond the statement of the driver. The hordes of witnesses and video surveillance tapes could be provide hard data that is rarely available in motorist-cyclist events.
Is there any likelihood that there will actually be a conviction? See my observations above about the tone attached to this incident that is being left in the minds of potential jurors.
Cycling advocates should also be heartened to see how quickly charges were laid, probably due to the afore-mentioned witnesses, the video and the high-profile nature of the case. One only has to think of the Melvin Martin case, here in Waterloo Region, to come up with an example of how slowly charges are usually laid in bicycle-motorist incidents. Martin was the man struck from behind on a rural road in December of last year. Charges -- of careless driving, not even careless driving causing death -- were only laid in June of this year. No surveillance cameras on the rural roads near Elmira. No former cabinet ministers involved.
I was puzzled that Bryant was not additionally charged with leaving the scene of an accident -- the initial collision that brought Bryant and Sheppard together. Is it because Bryant was carrying the "scene of the accident" on the side of his car as he drove along Bloor Street, verring onto the opposite lane and skimming past objects there in an apparent attempt to shake off Sheppard?
I wonder how this would have played out if Bryant had been in a fender bender with another car. The driver approaches. One driver doesn't exit his vehicle for the ritual exchange of insurance information. Instead, words are exchanged and the seated motorist drives off. The other motorist grabs the car, and is pulled along. How would that person have been portrayed?
This event is going to be dissected for days, esp. as witnesses with camera phones come forward, and someone produces a backup copy of the surveillance tapes. There will be meat here for discussion at the Ontario Bike Summit in Waterloo on Sept. 21, and for others who want to make a point about our transportation future ... one that involves both motorists and cyclists sharing the road.
If you are in the Toronto area, there will be a memorial bicycle ride today at 5 p.m. Meet at the corner of Bay and Bloor. The group will ride west to Avenue Road for a five-minute memorial of silence for Sheppard. I expect to see a ghost bike soon placed in the area.
