Police are saying tempers have to be brought back under control after a bicycle courier and a motorist had a run-in on Tuesday morning that ended with punches being thrown.
Azid Hamid was driving his silver BMW on Queen near Church Street when a bicycle courier began yelling at him through his open window.
"He called me name and boom! Hit me without no reason," Hamid alleged.
Detectives told CTV Toronto that Hamid became stuck behind the courier at Queen Street East and Church Street, which is in the middle of a construction zone.
"The cyclist went out into the middle of the lane, which is the passing lane -- which he has a right to do because he is a vehicle on the roadway," said Const. Mike Wong of the Toronto Police Service.
"And the driver of the vehicle thought he was slowing him down or whatever reason. As a result, there was a dispute. And it just escalated from that point on."
Hamid said the bicyclist came up beside him and hit him in the face repeatedly. "So I hit him back."
The motorist kept driving for several blocks before parking his car and getting out through the passenger's side. That's when he started hitting the cyclist back. The bike courier fell to the ground, witnesses said.
Paramedics treated the cyclist for minor injuries.
Police were called but neither man wanted to press charges.
Witness Dennis Kovalenko said the cyclist kept behaving aggressively after Hamid exited the vehicle.
This incident comes about a month after former Attorney General Michael Bryant was arrested and criminally charged in connection with the death of a cyclist.
Bryant was driving along Bloor Street when he and a bike courier had a conflict on the evening of Aug. 31. The altercation between the two men escalated and the courier was dragged by Bryant's vehicle. He later died.
Bryant has said publicly that he is innocent of all charges.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney
