A man has suffered a broken leg, head lacerations and a black eye after being struck by a police vehicle this past Saturday night.
Prince Rupert RCMP’s Staff Sgt. Brian Donaldson confirmed on Sunday that a police vehicle was involved in the accident that occurred at a crosswalk on Second Avenue West near Ninth Street.
The Independent Investigations Office of BC has taken the lead on further investigation of the incident.
Late Saturday, a photo was posted to Facebook and widely circulated showing emergency responders tending to a pedestrian in the middle of the road, with two police cruisers on either side of the pedestrian.
The man who was struck was confirmed by a family member to be Ronald Sanford on Sunday, with RCMP yet to confirm the man’s identity as of Sunday afternoon.
Sanford was able to be reached late Sunday afternoon at Kitimat General Hospital, where he was transferred after surgeons were not available at the time at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital.
Sanford told the Northern View that he was crossing a crosswalk near the Moby Dick Inn at around 10 p.m. when he was hit by a vehicle, who he was later told was a police SUV.
“I didn’t even see them coming. I don’t know if he was travelling too fast, but it sent me flying a good distance,” Sandford said.
While Sanford doesn’t recall anything immediately after being hit, he said he was told that he was conscious after the hit and asking questions.
“They said I was kind of delirious, like asking questions over and over, but they said they gave me some type of quiz and they said I got all the questions right, 15 out of 15,” he said, adding he doesn’t remember the questions, but remembers the RCMP explaining what happened later at the hospital.
Sanford said doctors have told him he should be in the hospital and released no later than Tuesday, but that he’ll be recovering for the next six to eight weeks.
“They’ll be giving me crutches,” he said.
