Michael Bryant’s 28-second encounter with Darcy Sheppard opened door to nightmare

The story of Michael Bryant's fatal encounter with Darcy Sheppard has a cinematic quality to it, as does the title of Bryant's new memoir, 28 Seconds.

Forget the rest of the title, A True Story of Addiction, Injustice and Tragedy. Twenty-eight seconds sums up the randomness of some life-altering encounters.

Bryant was by any measure a high flyer, graduate of Harvard Law, a former Ontario attorney general, among other high-profile government posts he held.

Sheppard was a troubled alcoholic who worked as a bicycle courier who as a child moved in and out of foster care.

On Aug. 31, 2009, their lives intersected near Yonge and Bloor streets in Toronto when Sheppard darted his bicycle in front of Bryant's Saab convertible as he and his wife were driving home from an anniversary celebration. Witnesses say Sheppard had been tossing garbage and holding up traffic by riding in figure-eights.

Bryant stalled his car and when it lurched forward as he restarted it, Sheppard briefly ended up on the hood. Then, as Bryant tried to drive away Sheppard, apparently unhurt at that point, grabbed onto the car.

Some witnesses claimed Sheppard tried to grab the steering wheel, the car veering into opposing lanes. Sheppard was knocked off when he hit a hydrant, fatally striking his head on the pavement.

Bryant was arrested and charged within hours with dangerous driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death.

The charges were dropped in May 2010 after a special prosecutor brought in from British Columbia — because of Bryant's former position as attorney general — found there was no likelihood of a conviction.

Bryant's book, published this week, is a candid account of how his life crumbled in the wake of those 28 seconds. His marriage collapsed, he resigned from his position at the city of Toronto's economic-development arm and endured months of investigation before police accepted witness accounts and surveillance footage clearing him.

In an interview with CBC News, Bryant insists an angry, erratic Sheppard initiated the confrontation, for reasons he's never understood, before ending up clinging to his speeding car.

Initial reports suggested Bryant's driving was road rage, insinuating he'd been drinking. But the book reveals his own struggle with alcoholism and the fact he'd quit drinking in 2006.

"I was sober that night," he told CBC News.

The book also reflects Bryant's bitterness over his treatment by the justice system. He claims police, perhaps not wanting to be seen giving a former minister special treatment, rushed to judgment.

"It is not unusual for Toronto Police Services to wait weeks (or even months) before deciding how they will proceed with such charges," Bryant wrote, according to the Globe and Mail. "In my case, the police couldn't wait a news cycle. I got the opposite of special treatment."

Bryant alleged police didn't properly follow up with many witnesses who backed Bryant's account of the incident, a charge Toronto police firmly reject.

"We knew from the second this investigation started that because Mr. Bryant was involved this was going to be looked at with a microscope," spokesman Mark Pugash told the Toronto Star. "That's why we made sure every 'i' was dotted and every 't' was crossed."

Sheppard's adoptive father, Allan Sheppard Sr., is also not impressed with Bryant, or the book, telling CBC's The Current he detected no sign of contrition in Bryant's self-described new humility.

"He doesn't really seem to accept the fact that my son died as a consequence of what happened," the elder Sheppard said, according to the Globe.

"At this stage, whatever he might do is a bit late. My sense is that everything that Mr. Bryant has done from the first minute after the incident through till now is part of a carefully worked out strategy designed to minimize any possible responsibility on his part. And to smooth the way back into a political career."

Bryant now teaches part-time at the University of Toronto and works for a consulting firm.

Perhaps there's a lesson for the rest of us here, too, sharing the road as drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. A little more civility and respect — and a little less alcohol — can keep our lives from veering into calamity.

[ More Daily Brew: Omar Khadr still a pariah in his home country, according to new poll ]