Cyclist 'doored' a day after pedestrian death in Mile End
Cyclist becomes third person sent to hospital in 2 days for accident on same Parc Ave. block
Mile End residents are decrying the "confrontational" attitude of drivers towards cyclists and pedestrians after three people were sent to hospital following two separate accidents on the same block this week.
"All I saw was the windshield was shattered on the car," Aaron Zak told CBC News after going to the scene of an accident between a cyclist and a car on Wednesday around 9 p.m.
The accident happened just half a block south of Parc and Bernard avenues where the previous day two women were hit by a truck and one later died.
- Screeching tires, injured pedestrians a regular event on dangerous Parc Ave.
- 1 dead, 1 critically injured after collision with truck in Montreal's Mile End
Police say the accident is being labeled a "dooring" — which is when a driver opens his car door without checking for cyclists and causes an accident.
According to Zak, when the driver opened his door the cyclist swerved and crashed into another car, shattering the windshield.
He said after the accident the cyclist was sitting on a bench with paramedics supporting his neck.
Police say the 27-year-old cyclist suffered non-life threatening injuries. Paramedics were on the scene and he was brought to hospital.
Zak has lived in the area for four years and says drivers in Mile End don't yield to pedestrians and cyclists.
"There's a culture of extremely aggressive driving in this city," he said.
"A lot of the time at crosswalks, like on Laurier Avenue, drivers are almost confrontational."
He said drivers don't automatically look for bikes.
The Highway Safety Code was amended earlier this year to include stiffer fines for driver who "door" cyclists. The fines are between $200 to $300.
Quebec's coroner's office recommended in 2013 that harsher fines be imposed for drivers who fail to check before opening their doors.
In Ontario, fines for "dooring" can be as steep as $1,000.