Driver paints different story

Photo: Contributed - Candice Loring

Eight-year-old Jonah continue to recover in hospital in Vancouver.

A different story is emerging about the man behind the wheel of a vehicle that hit an eight-year-old boy Monday afternoon in the complex at 2465 Ingram Rd. in West Kelowna.

An employee of the driver called Castanet Tuesday afternoon to say his boss was not speeding at the time of the incident as has been alleged by the father of Jonah Pevach, the boy injured in the crash.

"He's not a speeder, he's never been a speeder. I always whine at him for driving too slow," the employee told Castanet.

While it was stated earlier Jonah and his brother Caleb were outside having a water pistol fight, the employee said his boss, who is deaf, had come to a complete stop before the incident.

"He was completely stopped. He thought all the kids were out of the way, and then he started to go and he ran over a kid that was laying in front of him," he said.

"It wasn't a hit and run. He was completely stopped and he couldn't even see the kid. The kid was between the hood and the road, and he couldn't see him and he drove ahead a bit."

He claims kids are always playing on the road at the complex.

"The manager who runs the place is always screaming at the parents to tell the kids to quit lying on the road. The kid was lying there."

Jonah was rushed to Kelowna General Hospital then flown to Children's Hospital in Vancouver.

His father, Steve Pevach, said Jonah has 10 broken ribs, a broken collarbone, possible neck and cheekbone injuries and collapsed lungs.

The driver, who stayed at the scene, has not been charged.

The family will have to stay in Vancouver while Jonah recovers.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with expenses.