He wandered the world then roamed this city, a Quebec chef who worked abroad before settling in Toronto, where he rode around town on his surfboard-style longboard.

It’s what Ralph Bissonnette, 28, was doing Monday evening when he was struck and killed. A cabbie is charged with second-degree murder in an incident that has left the young man’s family reeling, outraged Toronto’s longboarding community and upset taxi drivers.

Bissonnette died after he was hit by a silver Toyota hybrid taxi around 6 p.m., leaving a bloody scene near King and George Sts., just east of Jarvis St.

More: Skateboarder dies after collision with taxi in downtown Toronto

Taxi driver Adib Ibrahim, 43, appeared in court Tuesday. The father of three from Ethiopia was remanded in custody until next week.

What occurred is still under investigation, but surveillance video seized by police shows words being exchanged as cab and longboard wheeled along King St., neither going very fast.

The footage captured Bissonnette travelling in the curb lane, close to the passing lane, making hand gestures at the cabbie, “but not flipping the bird,” a police source said, referring to the middle finger.

Witnesses told police the taxi suddenly veered into Bissonnette’s lane and mounted the curb. At least one witness reported seeing the taxi strike Bissonnette then drive over his lower body, police said.

“Somebody lost his cool,” a police source said.

Many witnesses have already come forward, but homicide Det.-Sgt. Terry Browne is appealing for more.

“We’re certainly trying to get a narrative and trace the movements of Mr. Bissonnette in the moments leading up to his death,” he said.

Second-degree murder charges are laid where homicides are intentional but spur-of-the-moment and unplanned. A conviction carries a life sentence though the parole eligibility period can run from 10 to 25 years.

Ibrahim’s lawyer, Barry Fox, cautioned against rushing to judgment, saying he does not know if the taxi mounted the curb.

“There is no road rage here,” he said.

Fox believes his client called police and “he didn’t run away and rendered assistance,” adding this could be a case of police “overcharging.”

Elias Abrahim, a friend of at least 15 years, said Ibrahim is “a very careful driver.” He has never known the cabbie to have any road rage incidents.

“He’s a person who tries to help,” Abrahim said.

On Tuesday, some who saw the collision’s aftermath — blood splattered on the sidewalk, Bissonnette’s longboard lying nearby, the rear wheels split off — returned to pay tribute.

“When I saw him, I figured . . . that he was not alive,” said Zelia Coyveiro, who added to a growing memorial with a card that said Rest In Peace.

“I was scared to look at him,” said Tatyana Smykov, who left a bouquet of six white roses.

Bissonnette was a native of Coaticook, in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. He worked in kitchens in different parts of the world, including as a line cook at Club Med in Florida, various restaurants in Quebec and a jazz bar in San Diego.

He settled in Toronto a few years ago, working at local restaurants including Rosewater Supper Club.

Bissonnette’s former colleague, Rene Chauvin, a cooking instructor at George Brown College, described him as “gregarious and hardworking.” The men met when Chauvin ran the kitchen at Duggan’s Brewery.

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Chauvin said he’d recommend the cook to anyone, adding Bissonnette was an active cyclist and skateboarder who was “always a team player.”

“He got along with everyone,” Chauvin said.

Family in Quebec are extremely saddened by the sudden loss, said Bissonnette’s uncle, Daniel.

“He was a good guy — you could talk to him,” he said.

“RIP,” his cousin, Steven, wrote on Facebook. “Even if you were elsewhere in the world, we thought about you.”

Bissonnette’s also leaves behind a girlfriend, Carrie-Anne. A distraught woman reached at an apartment near Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. where he was listed as living declined comment Tuesday.

The death has rallied Toronto’s tightknit community of longboarders, who have organized a vigil for a man most had never met.

“He’s was a lone longboarder,” said Suzanne Nuttall, a skateboarder who organized the vigil, to be held Wednesday night at St. James Park. The community meets regularly, Nuttall said, and Bissonnette has never, to their knowledge, attended rides or events.

“But we still feel like he was one of ours. And we all feel really sick about it — it could have been anyone one of us,” she said.

Ryan Rubin, the founder of the Longboard Living store in Kensington market, said the community is outraged, but the incident should be more than just finger-pointing. It’s an opportunity to remind longboarders — and everyone on the road — to stay safe.

“Things like this need to prompt discussion,” he said. “The community at its core promotes safe skateboarding.”

According to Toronto bylaws, skateboarders aren’t allowed on the road if sidewalks are present, and they’re not allowed in bike lanes. They don’t have brakes and thus aren’t considered vehicles.

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Skateboarder dies after collision with taxi in downtown Toronto

With files from Emily Jackson and Dylan Robertson

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