ATHABASCA — One man was injured and literally left wondering who hit him after a Nov. 27 hit and run incident on his way up to one of Athabasca's most scenic points.
Gordie Hurrie was taking his lunch break that day and decided to go up to the welcome sign at Centennial Park just across the river from the Town of Athabasca. On his way up River Ave. though, he was confronted by a dark blue SUV speeding toward him. Hurrie swerved to avoid a collision, but the SUV hit him and continued on its way down the hill.
“If it's a really nice day, I usually go up to the welcome sign, sit up there and take in the view and eat my lunch,” the 68-year-old Hurrie said. “I was on my way up to the welcome sign at 12 or 12:15 and I come around the first corner and all of a sudden in front of me there’s a dark blue full-size SUV doing a Tokyo Drift coming down the road.”
Hurrie said the SUV’s tires were turned and spinning as it drifted around the curve and directly toward his PT Cruiser. And it was not slowing down.
“He wasn't backing off until he seen me and by the time I seen him, it was already too late,” said Hurrie. "But I just kind of cranked it to the right and I wasn't really far from the snowbank on the right-hand side so, I managed to get off into the snow bank a little bit, just as he hit me. If I hadn't done that, it would have been head on.”
The SUV scraped down the driver’s side of his car shattering glass and tearing the body in spots. It also jammed the driver’s door forcing Hurrie to climb out the passenger side.
“I had glass all over; he had shattered the side window and I couldn't get out of the car because that door wouldn't open and I got blood running off my hands, I got blood running off my head,” he said. "All I know is I managed to climb over the gearshift and get out the passenger door and around the car and out of the snowbank and into the middle of the road expecting to see him across the road around the corner. But they were gone. Gone. I'm sure he never even took a breath. He just kept right on moving.”
Two good Samaritans did stop to help Hurrie, one was a woman in a yellow truck and the other a Fortis employee, identified by the company as Brant Marshall who is also a 10-year member of the Town of Athabasca Fire Department.
“There was a nice lady come down the hill in a yellow truck and she seen me and stopped,” he said. “She made me go and sit in her truck where it was warm because I was shaking like a leaf.”
Marshall showed up saying he had heard about the accident over the department radio as Hurrie had called 911 just before the woman in the yellow truck arrived, and he pulled out his first aid kit and went to work bandaging him up.
“He got the glass out (of my hand) and put a big gauze on, put pressure on it and wrapped my hand to stop the bleeding,” said Hurrie. “He sure did a good job and he kept saying ‘Well, they’re going to cut (the gauze) off anyway.”
Hurrie was left with bruised ribs, a cut on his hand and one on his ear and a ruined car and is thankful for the woman and Marshall's help.
"I heard the call and since I was close I stopped to see if I could help," Marshall said. "It's what we are trained to do."
Cpl. Alan Caldwell with the Athabasca RCMP said the transfer paint left on Hurrie’s car traces back to a dark blue, mid-sized SUV, likely a Ford.
“We have not located a suspect vehicle,” said Caldwell. “We have done inquires and the last known sighting it was heading south on Highway 2.”
Hurrie realizes it was an accident, but would like someone to come forward to claim responsibility and also to ensure everyone else in the SUV are okay.
“I hope that the person comes forward because it's worse if they leave it,” he said. “There's still time for them to make it right by coming and admitting they made a mistake. And if it's a teenager or something like that, well, you know, teenagers make very rash, silly decisions.”
If you know anything about the accident you are encouraged to contact the Athabasca RCMP at 780-675-5122. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the "P3 Tips" app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
