A Vernon man was fatally struck by a pickup truck Friday afternoon while exiting his vehicle and his son was witness to it all.
Vernon North Okanagan RCMP says the crash happened at around 3:45 p.m. Sept. 24, when the 45-year-old man, who had been travelling west on Highway 6, pulled over to the side of the road and parked on the north shoulder. As he exited his vehicle, a pickup truck travelling eastbound failed to negotiate a curve in the highway, crossed over the centre line and struck the driver’s side of the parked vehicle, dragging the man several metres.
“This is an absolutely tragic incident,” Cpl. Tania Finn, media relations officer with the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP, said in a press release.
“Even more compounded by the fact that the deceased man’s 12-year old son was in the parked vehicle when his father was struck and killed. Our hearts go out to everyone involved in this tragedy.”
BC Ambulance Service determined the 55-year-old man was dead at the crash site.
The 88-year-old driver of the pickup truck remained on the scene and was co-operative with police investigators. Investigators from the RCMP’s integrated collision analyst reconstructionist section and the BC Coroners Service attended.
At this time, investigators do not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor in the collision. BC Ambulance Service transported the 12-year-old passenger of the parked vehicle to the hospital as a precaution and the family of the deceased is receiving grief support.
The RCMP continue to investigate the incident. Anyone with information regarding this collision, who has not already spoken to police, is urged to contact Const. Steven McCarthy of the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP at 250-545-7171.