Police are investigating after a motorcyclist's neck was slashed when he rode into a thin wire stretched across an east-end street Sunday afternoon.
Humayun Kobir, 27, was riding his motorcycle northbound on Warden Avenue past St. Clair Avenue East when his neck caught a line of wire strung across the intersection.
Affan Rizva, a friend of the victim, said the man was able to stop and solicit assistance after the incident.
"He was bleeding everywhere so he pulled over and he called a few people for help," Rizva told CTV Toronto.
"It was just very close to the jugular vein, a branch of the vein was cut that's why it was squirting blood," said Kobir.
Emergency crews rushed the man to hospital where he was treated for a serious laceration and significant blood loss. Police said he is now in stable condition.
Initial reports suggested that the wire was a piece of fishing or kite line that may have been strung across the intersection intentionally.
While it is too early to confirm whether the string was purposely strung across the roadway, police said the fact that the cable was tied to a post and suspended about six feet off the ground is suspicious.
"Considering the height off the street level…we have to look at the more criminal aspect of it as opposed to it being a general accident," said Toronto Police Sgt. Mike Gottschalk.
As part of their criminal investigation, police said they are also exploring whether the wire could be a kite string that may have become tangled and strung across the road inadvertently.
The kite theory is credible, investigators said, because the area is known for kite fighting -- a game that involves opponents trying to strike each others' kites from the sky.
Brian Bates hands out newspapers every day near the Warden Avenue and St. Clair Avenue East intersection. He said Kobir's accident was a shock and he wondered if he should have reported an incident which he witnessed earlier but felt was minor.
He told CTV Toronto that a few weeks ago he saw a group of teens playing with kite string nearby.
The teens were "fooling around and putting string all over the street here," said Bates while motioning toward the intersection where Kobir was injured.
While doctors told Kobir he can expect a full recovery, he said he was shaken up and offered a warning to others in the neighborhood.
"This is serious; it's something you see in the movies. People tying kite lines (is) very dangerous. I've got a couple of kids so this could have been devastating for them if anything were to happen," he said.
Currently, no charges have been laid and there are no suspects in custody.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Zuraidah Alman
