David Nickerson continues to recover in hospital following Tuesday morning’s stabbing in a southeast parking lot that narrowly missed piercing his heart.
“Super close to my heart,” said Nickerson, “to the point where it poked my diaphragm.”
On Tuesday morning, Nickerson was driving to the Auto Value location in the 5100 block of Hubalta Road Southeast, a store the mechanic says he visits on a near-daily basis. Nickerson says he was waiting to make a left hand turn into the store’s parking lot as an oncoming westbound pickup truck had the right of way.
“I was waiting for him to turn and then he just stopped in the middle of turning,” recalled Nickerson. “I waited and waited and waved for him to go.”
“He didn’t go so I just went and I pulled in the parking lot. He pulled in the other end of the parking lot and pulled up beside my vehicle.”
The father of two says he assumed the other driver had been looking to make a U-turn on the road and he didn’t hesitate to walk over to the pickup truck when the man gestured for him to approach.
“He waved me over so I just started walking towards his truck and then he came around the front of his truck. I though he was poking me with his fingers, just kind of poking me in the chest, and then I felt a hot feeling, touched my chest and realized it was blood.”
Nickerson says his attacker never uttered a word. “It was really creepy. He looked me in the eyes after he actually stabbed me to see what was going to happen to me.”
The mechanic ran into the store for help and staff called 911. He was transported by ambulance to the Foothills Medical Centre in serious, life threatening condition.
According to Nickerson, his condition has improved in hospital. “The surgeon said it was looking very good,” said the Nickerson. “They thought they may have had to deflate my one lung to get in to go in behind by heart to do some repair work but they lucked out. They didn’t have to do that.”
“They’ve got the perforation in my diaphragm sewn back up and I just basically need to heal up and start working on a full breath of air.”
Nickerson says the parking lot ordeal was his first encounter with the man who attacked him. “I don’t know the guy at all so it’s not like there’s any ulterior motives.”
Charges are pending against an unnamed man in connection with the stabbing. Members of the CPS TAC team apprehended the suspect following a nearly six hour standoff at a residence in the southeast.
Police allege the stabbing suspect was also involved in an incident in a parking lot in the 300 block of 36 Street Northeast on Tuesday morning during which a pedestrian was struck by a pickup truck.
