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rfmcdonaldThis story got front-page coverage in The Globe and Mail today, following fairly prominent coverage in various online and print media on previous days.
This story caguht my attention because the intersection of Dovercourt and Argyle where the event took place is literally just down the street from my first Toronto address. As the article states and bloggers like this one argue, Toronto's very infrastructure is biased towards supporting cars and car drivers to the detriment of relatively more vulnerable bicyclists.
Wrapped in a white sheet, with a brown beard that hasn't been trimmed for days, Chris Kasztelewicz looks a bit like Jesus. And to many cyclists, the comparison is not inappropriate - Mr. Kasztelewicz has emerged as a symbol of two-wheeled suffering, run down by a taxi and maimed for life in a bizarre road-rage incident that has gripped the cycling community.
Mr. Kasztelewicz's right leg is gone, and his body is covered with scrapes and bruises. He has spent the past nine days in the critical care ward of St. Michael's Hospital in downtown Toronto, drifting in and out of consciousness and undergoing a series of major surgeries that have saved his life - but not his right knee and lower leg.
Mr. Kasztelewicz stared at his amputated leg yesterday, then fell back on his pillow, exhausted by his continuing medical ordeal.
"I just want to survive," he said. "That's what I'm thinking about."
Mr. Kasztelewicz also finds himself at the centre of a high-stakes legal drama. He is expected to be the main witness against cab driver Sultan Ahmed, who faces six criminal charges after allegedly running down Mr. Kasztelewicz with his rented taxi.
Mr. Ahmed, 38, was charged on Friday, and spent the weekend in jail. He is scheduled to appear in court today for a bail hearing.
The criminal case may be accompanied by civil action against Mr. Ahmed and other parties. Mr. Kasztelewicz was visited in hospital yesterday by David Levy, a Toronto litigator who is studying the case to see who may be held liable for Mr. Kasztelewicz's crippling injuries. "We're going to see where it goes," Mr. Levy said.
Mr. Kasztelewicz's case is seen as a watershed by the Toronto cycling community, which has spent years lobbying for bicycle-friendly changes that would make Canada's largest city a better place to ride.
"Toronto has the potential to be an extraordinary city for cyclists, but it was designed around the car," said Yvonne Bambrick of the Toronto Cyclists Union, an advocacy group modelled as the two-wheel equivalent of the CAA. "What happened here shows you the imbalance of power.'
This story caguht my attention because the intersection of Dovercourt and Argyle where the event took place is literally just down the street from my first Toronto address. As the article states and bloggers like this one argue, Toronto's very infrastructure is biased towards supporting cars and car drivers to the detriment of relatively more vulnerable bicyclists.
