We live in a city that is fairly easy to navigate, with roads and pathways that run in all directions, allowing our citizens to get where they need to go. In 20 minutes you can drive from one side to the next, but we have to remember that we share the roads with those who do not drive. Pedestrians and cyclists make up a large portion of our population, from children to college students to seniors. For those without a license, a bicycle can be a convenient and environmentally friendly way to commute.
Without the steel armor of a vehicle frame and the security of airbags to protect, a pedestrian or cyclist is noticeably more vulnerable. It only takes a nudge from a tire to send a human being careening off the road in an accident that alters their life forever.
In the 2012 Lethbridge Regional Police Annual Report, there were 18 total hit and run instances in our city, one that caused bodily harm and one death.
While 2013 figures are not yet compiled, the most recent bodily harm case is that of 45-year-old Lorne Miller. Miller was riding his bicycle home after working his shift as a cook at Average Joe’s on Jan. 26, when a vehicle struck him. The truck took off and left Miller gravely injured in the northbound lanes of Stafford Drive. A passerby found him and called the police. Miller’s life-threatening injuries required that he be airlifted to Calgary Foothills Hospital, where he remains comatose and in critical condition today. The driver attended the police station two days later, where he was charged with failing to stop or remain at the scene of a collision causing bodily harm and his vehicle was seized. Miller’s family is left to wait, hoping that time and medicine will heal his injuries and bring him home to them again.
What goes through the mind of a hit and run driver? Surely they feel the jolt as they hit something in the road; possibly they see the blur of a hand or hear a cry of pain. What is it inside that person’s head that makes them decide to run away, leaving another human to die in the middle of the pavement? Perhaps it is the notion of self-preservation, that fleeting moment of fear for oneself over the basic human instinct to help one another. Alcohol could also be a factor, with drivers understanding the consequences of being caught intoxicated behind the wheel.
Sometimes it could be as simple as they are driving a friend’s car and they don’t want the truth to be known. Jade Shimmin knows this all too well, as she was rear-ended by a car a couple weeks ago and the driver took off. Shimmin filed a police report right away and learned the damage to her car to be $1,600. Interestingly enough, she received a phone call from an insurance agent telling her that the other woman said she backed into her and was looking for compensation. The woman was driving her friend’s vehicle. With conflicting police reports, despite Shimmin’s being filed instantly, her fate is left up to a battle of insurance agencies.
Whether the repercussions are monetary or physical, a hit and run impacts not only the victim but also society. The countless hours and resources spent investigating the crime, attending to the injured and, most importantly, the emotional expense poured out from the families affected has a lasting effect on us all. Perhaps if we all could drive a bit more alert, with more patience and have more concern for our fellow man, there would be less of leaving a life in the middle of the road.