Friends of a tow truck driver who was seriously injured while on the job on the Trans-Canada Highway in Malakwa are raising money to assist him during his recovery.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started by Mike Horsley, who identifies himself as a friend and former coworker of John Brown, the injured tow truck driver. The fundraiser page states that Brown was out of his vehicle preparing to tow away a small pickup shortly after 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 20 when another truck travelling on the highway struck his tow truck from behind.
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Horsley’s fundraising appeal states that Brown’s truck was badly damaged in the wreck with it’s deck pushed into the cab. He added that Brown, who Horsley saw before he was transferred from Vernon Jubilee hospital to the ICU in Kelowna, told him that he has no memory of the accident. Horsley said Brown has since been moved out of the ICU.
According to Horsley the RCMP was already near the site of the accident and an ambulance was called quickly. The GoFundMe page states that Brown has several, broken bones, internal bleeding including some that might be coming from one of his kidneys and possible damage to his vertebrae.
“Those that know John, know that he is a force of nature, that will keep ticking, when any ‘normal person’ would just roll over and expire,” Horsley writes.
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The first thing on Brown’s mind is getting back to work to cover bills and the cost of his recent wedding in the Phillipines; according to Horsley the GoFundMe page was started in hopes of taking care of some of the bills allowing Brown to focus on his recovery. According to the GoFundMe page, his new bride Venus Balagot Balaba is very concerned and feeling helpless while half a world away in the Phillipines.
Horsley stated that meaningful enforcement of the current slow down move over laws intended to prevent accidents like the one that badly injured Brown is needed.
The GoFundMe page assisting Brown with his recovery can be found at: www.gofundme.com/f/HelpJohnBrown.
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