A 29-year-old Abbotsford man who survived the battlefields of Afghanistan is now in hospital after being hit by a pickup truck on 232 Street last Thursday evening.
Just before 5 p.m., newlywed John Lowe was on his way to visit his grandmother in Langley in his old pickup truck — a vehicle that was a replacement for his other old Dodge, which had recently been stolen. The truck doesn’t have a working gas gauge, so Lowe unwittingly ran out of gas while taking the 232 Street exit.
There was a torrential downpour at the time.
According to the gofundme page “John Lowe’s Recovery Fund,” he phoned his dad, Ray, who said he would pick up a gas can and meet him at the truck.
When his dad arrived there was no one at the truck, but he did see a large contingent of emergency vehicles and lights flashing closer to the Chevron gas station.
According to Langley RCMP, it appears Lowe was walking to the gas station when he was struck crossing the road.
He was hit by a one-tonne GMC Sierra truck, travelling north on 232 at 72 Avenue.
The driver of the truck stopped immediately and tried to help.
Lowe suffered multiple injuries, including internal bleeding, two breaks in his left arm, several broken ribs, a ruptured spleen and kidney and a bruised aorta. He also suffered a concussion.
He underwent surgery on the weekend and remains in Royal Columbian’s ICU.
In just two days, more than $6,500 has been raised for the young couple who “don’t have a big income stream.”
Lowe is a member of, and advocate for, Wounded Warriors of Canada and has spoken out publicly about his own experience with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and about the culture of silence that exists in the army surrounding the condition.
In 2013 and 2014, he completed the veterans’ Big Bike Ride from Paris to London, raising $4,000 for Wounded Warriors.
His efforts were featured in the Cloverdale Reporter last year.
He was born and raised in Cloverdale, and recently moved to Abbotsford.
Lowe and his mother, Shere, were also part of a fundraiser for Wounded Warriors, put on by Langley Rotary Club last fall.
Police are urging anyone who witnessed Thursday’s crash to call them.
“At this time, there are no independent witnesses to the collision,” said Langley RCMP Cpl. Holly Largy.
Call police at 604-532-3200.
