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Manola,Ab, Ca | We had an unfortunate incident on the log haul this week. Early Wednesday morning one of the trucks hit a person walking or standing on the highway. It happened on a curve on the highway. It was starting to snow. The person was dressed in dark clothes. We are still confused on why he was on the road.
He is a young local farmer. He and his father had ran through an intersection with a pickup and stock trailer. They had stopped a couple of other trucks to ask for a pull but no one had a chain or strap.
I was driving towards the highway and was chatting with the driver of the truck that was following behind the truck that struck the pedestrian. My buddy came on the radio and said he couldn’t understand why the truck in front was stopping and that he was going to get rear ended. Then we noticed the truck in the ditch and were trying to figure out what was happening.
I was coming out loaded, the other trucks were coming back empty. The road I was on has a curve and then parallels the highway that the empty trucks were on before intersecting at a straight area. Kinda like a New Jersey jug handle.
As I was getting to the stop sign my buddy came on the radio telling me to call 911 as the truck in front had hit someone.
I made the call and was providing information to the dispatcher. My buddy radioed that the victim was still alive but in bad shape. While this was going on another pickup was pulling the stuck truck out of the ditch. It turns out the driver of the stuck truck was the victim’s father. I reluctantly walked up to the scene to provide a heavy coat to help keep the victim warm until help arrived. I was not directly involved with first aid but saw more than I would have liked.
The first three firefighters on scene arrived in their personal vehicles. I think the first one arrived in around ten minutes from the time I placed the call. Once the rescue vehicle arrived they very quickly got the victim into the ambulance.
I was very impressed with the speed and efficiency of the volunteers from the Fort Assiniboine Fire Department. I honestly don’t know how they are able to deal with the things they see and experience. They have to be very special people.
The victim is still alive but in very bad condition from what I’ve heard. I feel horrible for everyone involved but especially for the driver who hit him. He is 73 years old, a very cautious driver. My buddy said that he was driving 10 km per hour under the limit all the way back from the mill. He was set to retire at the end of this season. He had a dash camera that showed everything and no charges are expected. He took the following day off but he was back to work the next day but I’m sure he’ll live with this for a long time.
I have heard that the father and son are calving their cows right now and they were coming from helping a neighbour who is also calving and had a death in the family in another province so fatigue may have been a factor in some decisions that were made that in hindsight might be questionable.
Life is fleeting and one never knows when life is going to throw you a curve ball, better be prepared. | |
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Kudos to first responders
