A cyclist has been charged with mischief in Toronto after he was struck by a car at the intersection of Queen and Spadina on Thursday afternoon and allegedly retaliated by throwing the driver's keys down a drain.

The cyclist then left the scene but was followed by police before being stopped, Const. Clint Stibbe told CBC News.

"Reaching into a vehicle is risky at best," Stibbe said. "And you never know what the person inside that car is going to do to you when you do that."

The driver has not been charged, but the investigation is ongoing, he said.

Stibbe could not say whether the cyclist was injured. But he did warn both drivers and cyclists against escalating the situation after a collision.

"In the end what we're looking at is a very adversarial relationship between cyclists and drivers," Stibbe said. "It is something that is occurring on a daily basis."

'Not a cool move'

Bystanders captured the incident with their camera phones and posted the images to social media, where they sparked a discussion between drivers and cyclists.

The witnesses said the driver was travelling westbound through the intersection when he made a quick left, right into the cyclist heading eastbound.

CBC News attempted to contact the witnesses who posted the pictures to Reddit, but did not receive a reply.

"I've always thought of doing this when people have almost run me down while crossing the street," one person said on Reddit.

"I can't believe someone actually did it."

"Throwing the dude's keys down the drain was definitely not a cool move," wrote another.

'I'd do the same'

Cyclists pedalling through the intersection on Friday were divided when told the story.

Cyclist Jonah Brunet said he would like to sympathize with the cyclist, but called his actions "rude."

"I think a lot of cyclists have this attitude like no matter what, the cars are the enemy, and a lot of drivers feel the same way," Brunet said. "More than just infrastructure, it will take a whole attitude change."

Cyclist Tilly Bogle said: "I'd do the same."

"The cars don't care about the bikes," she said.

'We need to share the road'

Drivers said they try to share the road, but one acknowledged that it's "challenging."

"I think we need to share the road," one driver said while waiting for the light to change at the intersection. "As drivers we've got to be cognizant of who's around us. The same for the cyclists."

Stibbe advised anyone who gets in a collision to stop, try to remain calm and check if the other person is okay.

"Some people may think it's funny and maybe to that individual who dropped the keys," Stibbe said. "But in the end you don't know what that person is going home to."