‘Hit-and-run’ sparks concern for future of cyclists and drivers in Ontario

An incident involving a Hamilton cyclist who was struck by a vehicle is causing controversy, as the motorist allegedly provided the victim with false information and then fled the scene. 

According to Dave Shellutt, the victim’s lawyer, the cyclist in question was hit at the Cannon Street intersection in Hamilton on Nov. 5. 

Video footage supplied to INsauga.com via Instagram shows the victim passing through the intersection on a bike lane — where they maintained the legal right of way to cross. 

According to Shellnutt, the driver promptly left their vehicle to assess the cyclist’s condition after the collision. At that point, the victim was given what was believed to be valid information for insurance reasons. 

It wasn’t until the victim confirmed that they had sustained a concussion and soft tissue damage that they followed up on the information provided. 

 

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“They thought that the driver who had stopped and talked to them was being honest but when it came back to us they were given false information, that’s when Hamilton police just kind of shrugged,” Shellnutt told INsauga.com. 

Shellnutt says police have not charged the suspected driver related to the incident.

INsauga.com contacted the Hamilton Police Service to comment on whether any charges are being processed regarding the incident. 

At the time of publication, law enforcement officials have yet to relay any pertinent information on the matter. 

The recent incident is also in lockstep with a provincewide incentive to remove bike lanes from several municipalities, a project rumoured to have a nearly $50 million price tag — a tidy sum that Ontario’s transportation minister recently shot down. 

While Shellnutt noted that policymakers in Hamilton are not strictly anti-cyclist, they have yet to comment on the Ford administration’s ambitious goal of curtailing the presence of bike lanes in Ontario. 

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow took a firm stance earlier this month, citing her personal goals to oppose the looming provincial overhaul of cyclist infrastructure. 

Outside the purview of municipal politics, Shellnutt noted that it is not surprising that Hamilton police have been slow to apply punitive measures to the driver involved in the Nov. 5 incident, alleging their track record is less than stellar. 

“We regularly cover clients in Hamilton, and we have seen a pretty wild video of a motorist doing something similar to what we saw this month. The next day [the police] only gave the guy a slap on the wrist, and that was only after much cajoling,” alleges Shellnutt. 

After being retained by the injured cyclist, Shellnutt’s legal team contacted Hamilton law enforcement officials, citing what they wished to see regarding charges, such as multiple traffic-adjacent infractions under the Highway Traffic Act. 

However, what remains under scrutiny is what the act of providing false information and fleeing entails within the framework of Ontario’s legal system. 

“What we see frequently, is people hitting and running or fleeing the scene without proper insurance, that kind of behavior is terrifyingly regular,” says Shellnut.” For this incident, he essentially did commit a hit-and-run, so we’re also recommending Hamilton police hit him with that charge.” 

At the time of publication, it is unclear if the driver is facing charges. 

In the meantime, Shellnut remains concerned this ongoing pattern may signal a bleak future.

As he strongly suggests, if incidents like these occur regularly when there is an on-road division between cyclists and motorists, what will things look like when there isn’t?

“You take away a barrier between blocks; there is going to be more opportunity to do more harm, and that’s the way it is going to work,” he tells INsauga.com.

“You’re going to have road users, e-bikes, e-scooters moving in and out of traffic — and not just at intersections — that will create more conflict, that will create more harm.”