Edward
Senior Member
Ex-Ontario AG Bryant arrested
http://thestar.ca/news/gta/article/689220
Sep 01, 2009 07:21 AM
HENRY STANCU, ROBYN DOOLITTLE, JOHN RIETI
STAFF REPORTERS
Former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant has been arrested after a cyclist was killed last night while hanging on to a fleeing car, police sources say.
The crash occurred on Bloor St. near Bay St. around 9:45 p.m. when witnesses said a male cyclist in his 20s collided with a black Saab.
Witnesses 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 then veered onto the eastbound lanes and mounted the curb, brushing against trees and poles, witnesses said.
"He was driving on the wrong side of the street and up on the curb trying to knock him off the car for about 100 metres," said Ryan Brazeau, a worker with a crew laying sewer pipes on Bloor.
"Lots of people were watching and they couldn't believe what was happening."
As the car approached Avenue Rd., the cyclist fell off and he and his bike were dragged before being run over by the rear wheels, witnesses said.
The Toronto cyclist was taken to St. Michael's Hospital with severe head injuries and died around midnight, police said.
A suspect was arrested after the vehicle was seen pulling into the Park Hyatt hotel on Avenue.
Homicide detectives assisted Traffic Services with the investigation, which closed both lanes of Bloor St. W. between Bay and Avenue for most of the night.
Police say charges are pending. Police are also questionsiong a female passenger who was in the convertible at the time.
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.
He was Ontario's youngest-ever attorney general, serving throughout the McGuinty government's first four-year term as its Chief Legal Officer.
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.
http://thestar.ca/news/gta/article/689220
Sep 01, 2009 07:21 AM
HENRY STANCU, ROBYN DOOLITTLE, JOHN RIETI
STAFF REPORTERS
Former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant has been arrested after a cyclist was killed last night while hanging on to a fleeing car, police sources say.
The crash occurred on Bloor St. near Bay St. around 9:45 p.m. when witnesses said a male cyclist in his 20s collided with a black Saab.
Witnesses 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 then veered onto the eastbound lanes and mounted the curb, brushing against trees and poles, witnesses said.
"He was driving on the wrong side of the street and up on the curb trying to knock him off the car for about 100 metres," said Ryan Brazeau, a worker with a crew laying sewer pipes on Bloor.
"Lots of people were watching and they couldn't believe what was happening."
As the car approached Avenue Rd., the cyclist fell off and he and his bike were dragged before being run over by the rear wheels, witnesses said.
The Toronto cyclist was taken to St. Michael's Hospital with severe head injuries and died around midnight, police said.
A suspect was arrested after the vehicle was seen pulling into the Park Hyatt hotel on Avenue.
Homicide detectives assisted Traffic Services with the investigation, which closed both lanes of Bloor St. W. between Bay and Avenue for most of the night.
Police say charges are pending. Police are also questionsiong a female passenger who was in the convertible at the time.
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.
He was Ontario's youngest-ever attorney general, serving throughout the McGuinty government's first four-year term as its Chief Legal Officer.
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.