While the town is closing the western crosswalk at Beacon and Seventh for safety, a young girl was hit crossing the other side.
At around 1 p.m. Jan. 16 — just days after the closure was announced — the girl and a friend were crossing Beacon Avenue when they say a late model, grey, Dodge Ram truck with an extended cab and a white canopy struck both of them.
One girl described being “nicked” by the truck, while the 13-year-old Sidney girl was knocked off her feet and hit the ground striking her head and hip.
“She flew back two or three feet,” said the girl’s mom Sue Turpin. “Then her first instinct was to get off the road.”
The male driver apparently asked the girls if they were okay, and after they replied that they were, he left the scene.
“We have an unidentified driver involved in an injury motor vehicle accident,” said RCMP Sgt. Wayne Conley. “A driver is responsible, if involved in an accident, to provide their name, address and other information and to provide assistance at the scene if required.”
The teen called her mom minutes after the incident and was taken to Saanich Peninsula Hospital and later released. She suffered a concussion and severe bruising in the crash, but is recovering.
Her parents are frustrated and angry that a motorist would leave the scene after hitting a child.
“They were crossing with the light. She said the truck came out of nowhere and suddenly she was looking up at a grill. It was very scary for her, she was shaking and in shock, suffering from trauma,” said Turpin.
Witnesses described the man as being in his mid- to late 50s with grey hair, wearing a black leather jacket.
“Sidney North Saanich RCMP is requesting that the driver of the vehicle involved contact RCMP as part of the ongoing investigation,” said Conley. He also urged witnesses who had not already been in contact with police to call them and reference file #2011-265.
The family is hoping the man will contact RCMP to report the accident.
“You wouldn’t hit a dog and just leave it on the side of the road, and this is my child … it’s not right,” Turpin said.
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