A cyclist involved in a case of road rage in downtown Toronto is free on bail.
30-year-old Paolo Diluciano surrendered to police Sunday to face charges of assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, and mischief.
He was quickly identified with help from the public after videos showing a clash between a driver and cyclist at York St and Raptors Way emerged last week.
Police say the driver was trying to make a right turn from Raptors Way onto York when a cyclist cut in front of him. The driver has said he had a green light and braked hard to avoid hitting the cyclist. The driver honked his horn and the cyclist responded by kicking the driver's car which police say caused some damage.
The driver climbed out of the car to confront the cyclist. Video shows the driver being hit on the street with a bike lock, pulled to the ground and then the cyclist taking off.
As footage of the confrontation spread, the cyclist was fired from his job as a courier.
“Honestly I’m shocked by the whole video and the whole incident how somebody could go to that extreme over something so small,” Peter Hanson, President of QA Courier told CTV Toronto.
In court Monday, Diluciano's puffed out his cheeks as he listened to the Crown describe what they allege happened. In the prisoner's box, a clean-shaven Diluciano looked a little different than the goateed cyclist in the video recorded a few days ago. He crossed his lean, tanned arms in front of him with his long, dark hair falling over the shoulders of his grey t-shirt.
Diluciano was released on $1,000 bail after agreeing to live with his surety, to stay away from his alleged victim and to steer clear of the intersection where they allegedly clashed.
The case returns to court Aug. 12.