233159
232178

Kamloops  

Victim forgives driver

The victim of a pedestrian hit and run at Sun Peaks says he forgives the driver who hit him.

Michael Bennett, 29, was walking friends on Sun Peaks Road when a pickup veered onto the shoulder and struck him, July 19.

“Eventually, he just got right on top of us,” Bennett told CTV. “He was right on the shoulder, so where do you go? So I got hit. Next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital.”

Bennett was left badly injured on the side of the road as the driver fled. He suffered a fractured skull, pelvis and clavicle, as well as a brain injury.

Engaged to be married, the ordeal could put his August wedding in jeopardy.

Bennett’s fiancée, Kaily Stevens, said it’s amazing he wasn’t killed.

"The police tell us he was thrown about 25 feet horizontally and 10 feet vertically on the road. And the truck hit him at about 60 km/h,” Stevens said.

Bennett was taken to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, but is now home in Langley.

His family is offering a $10,000 reward for information on the incident.

The couple say they forgive the driver, but are concerned the driver is still on the road.

“Everyone makes mistakes,” said Bennett. “I didn’t die. So I definitely forgive them, I just wish it’s not a case of maybe they do the same thing and they hit somebody else and that person doesn’t live.”

RCMP in Kamloops also urge the driver to come forward.

“It’s a very tragic event, anytime we have something of this nature where someone is hurt as a result of a collision,” Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Jason Epp told CTV. “To run from the scene and hide? That just makes it even more tragic.”

Despite Bennett’s injuries, the couple hopes to go ahead with the wedding.

“Am I going to be able to walk down the aisle properly? Am I going to be able to hug her on our wedding day? I don’t know,” said Bennett.

Police have received several tips in the case but are hoping for more. Anyone with information is asked to call the Kamloops detachment at 250-314-1800 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

– with files from CTV Vancouver



More Kamloops News