Conservative candidate for Skeena-Bulkley Valley Tyler Nesbitt had the shock of a lifetime when a cyclist crashed into the back of his stationary pickup truck on Tuesday.
Nesbitt had pulled over to take a phone call on the shoulder of Highway 16 near Telkwa when a Smithers cyclist, aged 67, collided with the tailgate of his vehicle at about 3.45 p.m.
The man suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries and was flown to Vancouver General Hospital.
The Terrace-based candidate said he had just hung up the phone when he heard a bang.
“It was pretty rough right off the bat because instantly right after that big bang I opened my door, turned around and there was a significant amount of blood there,” he said.
He called 911 and set about helping the cyclist, who had a nose bleed and was complaining about pain from his clavicle.
Another motorist, who happened to be trained as a paramedic, pulled over to help and they covered the injured man with a blanket until emergency services arrived.
Nesbitt said the cyclist, who he later found out is a doctor, had visible bruising around his collarbone.
“As soon as they cut the shirt from around him you could see that collarbone was purple underneath,” he said.
“Not protruding from the skin but swollen underneath so you could tell right away there was a fracture under there.”
Nesbitt cancelled a campaign meet-and-greet in Houston that evening and followed emergency services to the hospital.
He also made a statement to Smithers RCMP, who are still investigating the incident but say there is no indication that a criminal offence occurred.
Nesbitt said he was not sure how the accident happened but it was lucky the man was wearing a helmet.
“I just think he had his head down and he was giving her,” he said.
“He was trying to make good speed and he was trying to get a good workout out of it and … [it was] like a hitting a wall.
“I work for highways maintenance so I’ve been on to one too many accident scenes and whatnot.
“There’s obvious times when you can tell what happened or whatever but I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Nesbitt said he plans to contact the man and check in on his recovery at a later date.
Anybody who witnessed the collision is encouraged to contact Constable Moleski at Smithers RCMP on 250-847-3233.
