The man killed in Saturday night's pedestrian collision has been identified, The Citizen has learned, as Stanley Heavysides, 48.
Sandra Cassidy, 68, of Prince George is facing five charges in relation to the incident.
Witnesses to the incident said the vehicle she allegedly drove, a dark-coloured Ford Escape, changed directions four times, and twice jumped the Ospika Boulevard median, before striking Heavysides as he walked home at about 8 p.m. that night at the intersection of Melody Crescent.
"I saw her bounce off the curb and bounce off my tree," said Wesley Lazette, who lived in the house the woman nearly drove into after taking out a neighbouring fence and Heavysides with it. Lazette said it looked like Heavysides had attempted to move out of the way, but was nonetheless struck by the SUV.
"She put it in reverse and went backwards, fast, towards the gentleman (Heavysides) again," Lazette said. "The family car coming along behind saw this happening and the man driving, his wife was in the passenger seat, veered into her path to block her from driving over him again."
The suspect struck the couple who intervened in their silver Pontiac Sunfire. Once they were hit, said Lazette, the Escape drove forward again and disappeared down Ospika.
Chris Bennett heard the initial commotion and came out to see the calamity. He saw the Escape back up towards the fallen pedestrian, and he saw the Sunfire change course to come between the SUV and Heavysides.
"There was no doubt, to me, that she would have hit the man on the ground again, because of the speed of her wheels as she reversed, after hitting Wesley's tree," said Bennett. "That driver (of the Sunfire) was amazing, he just swerved in to block her path."
Bennett called 911 at 7:55 p.m. and Heavysides was still alive when paramedics rushed him to the hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries not long after he arrived at the University Hospital of Northern B.C.
Investigators were quick on the scene and zeroed in on a license plate that was apparently ripped off the Escape during the collision with the fence and Heavysides. That plate led Mounties to the suspect who is now in custody.
The driver is currently facing charges of Impaired Driving Causing Death, Dangerous Driving Causing Death, and Failing to Remain at the Scene of a Collision.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS / www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca.
For comments or tips regarding this story, e-mail: [email protected]
The Broken Road
Witnesses said the path taken by the elder female allegedly behind the wheel of a northbound Ford Escape was wild and violent before striking Stanley Heavysides, killing him.
The Escape was northbound on Ospika Boulevard as it passed Ferry Avenue, a windy stretch of the road.
She failed to negotiate the turns, first hitting the centre median then careening across to the eastern sidewalk where she knocked over a bus stop post.
She overcorrected or was somehow jostled the other way and drove completely across the Ospika median and the two oncoming lanes, the western sidewalk, then up onto the side hill in front of Centaur Villa Apartments, clipping the building's sign.
Again she veered in the opposite direction, going back over the median and the two northbound lanes, over the eastern sidewalk, and up a small side hill and smashing simultaneously into a residential wooden fence, a birch tree and Heavysides.
The impact knocked her back into the northbound lanes where she struck the median but kept going forward this time, at an angle that sent her up onto the eastern sidewalk and into the yard of Wesley Lazette on the northeast corner of Melody Crescent where she hit his mountain ash tree.
She backed away from the tree and struck a northbound Pontiac Sunfire that drove into her reverse path, apparently in an attempt to prevent a second collision between the Escape and the now injured Heavysides.
After the impact with the Sunfire, the Escape drove forward again and disappeared from view.
The RCMP are still verifying the details of the incident and have not officially confirmed if this was the true sequence of events.
For comments or tips regarding this story, e-mail: [email protected].
