A B.C. couple is now in hospital in San Diego battling serious injuries following a hit-and-run on Friday, April 7.
Kevin Gulbranson and his partner, Dayae Choi, had parked their car on Greene Street.
They were then hit by a car driving in the opposite direction. The driver of that car did not stop at the scene.
“They don’t remember very much,” Allison Gulbranson, Kevin’s older sister, told Global News.
“All they do remember is that they were on the ground.. is that she was on the ground and so was Kevin. And they were both seriously injured.”
Choi has a serious lower leg injury. She has now had two surgeries to treat damaged and missing muscle, fat and skin and she will need skin graft surgery as well.
Kevin, however, is in critical condition and is currently in the intensive care unit in a medically induced coma.
“He’s had multiple injuries to his head and his brain,” Allison said. “They did brain surgery a few nights ago and they are very closely monitoring him. He has extensive damage and a lot of broken bones.”
She said it is too early to tell what the extent of his injuries will be.
San Diego County Crime Stoppers and investigators from the San Diego Police Department’s Traffic Division are investigating and said the vehicle involved appears to be a black, older model Lexus sedan, possibly an LS400, with damage to its passenger side including missing the passenger side mirror and windshield wiper.
Crime Stoppers is offering up to a $1,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to an arrest in this case.
“It just makes me so upset and angry that somebody could do this knowing that they have seriously injured two people,” Allison said.
The family has started a GoFundMe to help the couple as medical care in the United States is very expensive. They said the couple does have some medical insurance but they do not know the extent of the coverage.
They also want to fly the couple back to Vancouver as soon as possible.
“It’s very dependent on Kevin’s situation and his recovery,” younger brother Brad said. “It’s still very up in the air, and it’s too soon to tell.”
The siblings said they are blown away by the support so far.
“We knew that Kevin and Dayae had a very positive impact on their friends and community around them, but I never knew the true extent of it,” Brad added.
“Kevin is one of the most motivated and driven people I know. The way he tackles life really motivates me and drives me to be a better person. I’d say there wasn’t really a weekend or any time off that he wasn’t either in the water, surfing, on the mountain or travelling or doing something active, just being out there. That was the same with Dayae. They were hand-in-hand. I think that’s part of the reason why they bonded so well. They shared that love of being outdoors and being adventurous and that kind of thrill-seeking adrenaline.”
Allison said they know Kevin is a fighter and the family will be there to help with whatever they need. But they want the driver to come forward.
“Please just come forward,” Allison said. “It would mean a lot to our family just to know what happened. And I know this driver must be scared and worried about consequences. But like, just to give our families some closure, to know what happened.”