EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally said the driver was injured, however, police said only the pedestrian was injured. The article has been corrected.
Police are asking people to keep an eye out for a pickup truck that allegedly hit a 40-year-old man in north Edmonton and left the pedestrian fighting for his life on Thursday night.
At about 8:10 p.m., the truck left the scene after it hit the victim at 128A Avenue and 82 Street, according to police. The victim was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries. On Friday, police said his condition had been upgraded to stable condition.
Police are now looking for a white pickup truck with tinted windows that has “construction bars in the box.” The back of the truck had letter decals, or “backtrack” lettering on its rear.
The truck, a white 2011 Ford-F250 Superduty crew, was bearing Alberta licence plate number BDC 1081. Police said it was heavily covered in white and grey dust.
Police also released an image of the suspect vehicle but did not say where the photo was from.
On Friday, police said a witness saw the truck flee the scene and go west on 128 Avenue at a high rate of speed. The witness told police they tried to follow the truck but lost sight of it at around 66 Street.
Anyone with information about the truck or its driver is asked to call the Edmonton Police Service at #377 from a cellphone or at 780-423-4567.
Police have confirmed the pedestrian was hit in a crosswalk.
Several people who live and work in the area said they are not surprised someone was hit in the busy crosswalk.
“You’re afraid to even try and cross,” Marie Schurko said.
The City of Edmonton recently installed a pedestrian-activated stop light at the intersection, but it’s not in operation yet. Gerry Shimko, the executive director of the City of Edmonton’s Office of Traffic Safety, said EPCOR is expected to finish the job before the end of the month.
Shimko said while he couldn’t comment on Thursday night’s collision specifically, pedestrian safety is a concern even when there are crosswalks.
“Very unfortunately, we’re seeing many pedestrians that are struck in crosswalks where legally they have the right of way to cross,” Shimko said. He added that the intersection where the pedestrian was hit on Thursday night “is one of the locations that was identified as a high priority for changes to be made earlier this year.”
Shimko said even at crosswalks, “don’t go unless you’re absolutely certain you can do so in a safe way.”
He said if possible, pedestrians should try to make eye contact with drivers before they cross. He added the fall is riskier for pedestrians because it gets darker earlier when a lot of drivers are still on the roads.
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