A Qualicum Beach man was taken to hospital in Nanaimo last week after his motorcycle struck a deer on the Inland Highway near Exit 46 at the south end of Parksville.
“At 8:30 p.m. (April 18) we had a report that a northbound 2014 Harley-Davidson hit a deer at full highway speed,” RCMP Cpl. Jesse Foreman said. “The bike suffered considerable damage and the driver was transported to (Nanaimo Regional General Hospital), but we do not know his specific injuries.”
A witness, one of several people who stopped to provide assistance, said the motorcycle came to rest 150 to 200 feet from where the man was found sitting in the median strip between the northbound and southbound lanes. Peggy Casey of Comox, who came upon the scene just after the collision, said the man identified himself as a 59-year-old from Qualicum Beach who was returning home from work. She and other passers-by, including one who came from a home backing onto the highway, called 911 and stayed with the man until responders arrived.
“He had just passed us a little way back,” said Casey, who was travelling northbound with her husband. “I remembered because my husband had said, ‘I should get a bike like that.’ He wasn’t speeding; he was just going a bit faster than we were. Another girl who was there said she saw it happen and he never had a chance to stop.”
— NEWS Staff
