A 35-year-old woman was transported to hospital in life threatening condition following a Sunday morning gas-and-dash in the 1800 block of 16 Avenue Northwest.
At approximately 11:00 a.m., an employee of a Centex gas station was struck by a pickup truck in the westbound lanes of 16 Avenue following a dispute in a neighbouring parking lot. The driver of the truck failed to remain at the scene.
According to witnesses, the driver of the truck and the victim were arguing in the parking lot of the Home Depot a short time before the crash.
“I was picking out some plants when I heard some yelling,” said Rod Lechelt, who witnessed the argument from outside the Home Depot entrance “She was standing outside of a big pickup truck, yelling at the guy inside of it. He immediately backed up and then pulled out (towards 16 Avenue).”
“The next thing I heard was a bunch of screaming so I ran out and she was laying out on the ground.”
A witness to the collision, who asked to remain anonymous. said "a truck pulled out quite erratically out of Home Depot and then a woman pursued into traffic by foot and jumped on the front of the guy's hood. When the light turned green, he just drove away and hit her."
Rod Lechelt says he encountered a grisly scene on the road.
“Her legs got run over, one of them looked broken, and just a lot of blood pouring from her mouth and she was unresponsive.”
The 35-year-old woman was transported by ambulance to the Foothills Hospital in serious, potentially life threatening condition with multiple traumatic injuries, including injuries to her head.
Friends of the victim say the woman, who is originally from Iran, recently relocated to Calgary from Montreal with her husband and six-year-old child. The woman's son is not aware of his mother's injuries.
According to a neighbour of the victim who is watching the young boy, the woman's husband says the hit-and-run followed a dispute at the gas station.
"A customer came in a truck and filled the gas and refused to pay," said Asmat Ullah,
The victim remains in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit at the Foothills Hospital with her husband at her side.
The westbound lanes of 16 Avenue were closed to traffic for several hours following the crash.
Police are reviewing surveillance video from neighbouring businesses in an attempt to identify the suspect driver and truck. According to CPS members, the suspect vehicle had been reported as stolen.
The suspect vehicle is described as a:
- 2006 Ford Super Duty pickup truck
- Alberta licence plate EUX378
At the time of the collision, there were two unidentified people inside the truck.
Anyone with information about the location of the truck or the identities of the suspects, is asked to contact the Calgary Police Service, 403-266-1234, or Crime Stoppers.
