A man is recovering in hospital after he was hit while operating a tow truck on the side of Deerfoot Trail on Friday morning.
Emergency crews were called to the northbound lanes of Deerfoot Trail, north of Peigan Trail, at about 11:40 a.m. for reports of a crash.
A man in his 50s suffered chest and leg injuries after he was struck while hooking up a vehicle.
“He was working in the shoulder of Deerfoot Trail. We’re still working to determine where exactly he may have been standing when he was struck,” said Stuart Brideaux, EMS Public Education Officer. “We did find him beside his tow truck in the right lane.”
“A tow truck driver was recovering a vehicle on the east side of Deerfoot Trail when he struck by a northbound Toyota Corolla. He was struck at approximately 90 kilometres an hour,” said Sgt. John James from the CPS Traffic Unit.
The man was taken to Foothills Hospital in serious, but stable condition.
“The hazards of working along the roadside in the daytime are extreme enough with speeds and the different things you have to work with, never mind at night under low lighting conditions, so in all cases, anytime we have a pedestrian struck by a vehicle, the risk of injury is extremely high. Fortunately, today, he was in stable condition at the time of transport however he will remain in hospital with serious injuries. Given the factors of what may have occurred today we are fortunate this wasn’t a much more serious incident.” said Brideaux.
“He was hit at highway speed,” said James. “He’s very fortunate that he wasn’t killed at the scene.
The driver who hit the worker remained at the scene and was not injured in the incident.
Police are investigating to determine what lead up to the collision and say charges are pending.
