From sidewalk to stretcher
A 25-year-old man is in hospital after a driver of a car jumped the curb in front of London Drugs on Lansdowne Street at about noon on Thursday, Nov. 22, pinning him to ground.
Matt O'Neill, who was manning a Salvation Army kettle in front of the downtown Kamloops store, said the driver of a 1989 grey Buick sedan appeared to be in the process of straightening his car in a handicapped-parking stall in front of the drugstore.
But, when the car drove forward into the space, it kept going up onto the sidewalk.
"He just kept coming forward, no brakes, came right up over the curb and pinned a young guy who was walking on the sidewalk right against the post, pinning his left leg," O'Neill said.
"He didn't stop at all until he pinned the guy."
The car also knocked over a handicapped-parking sign.
When the car backed out, O'Neill attempted to help the man on the ground.
"He had a lot of pain in his left leg. That's the one that got pinned against a post. Everything else seemed OK, but a lot of leg pain," he said.
Police and paramedics arrived and the man was taken to hospital.
The driver of the car, a 72-year-old Pinatan Lake resident, was issued a provincial violation ticket for driving without due care and attention.
O'Neill said the experience isn't one he wants to repeat while he's on Salvation Army kettle duty this holiday season.
"I've seen some interesting things doing this, but not that. And, I don't want to see it again."
To read KTW's Nov. 13 feature on whether age is an issue behind the wheel, click here.
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