A 46-year-old woman may face charges of impaired driving causing death after a man was struck and killed while walking on a Courtenay sidewalk Monday.
According to Comox Valley RCMP, the 71-year-old pedestrian was walking with his wife on a sidewalk along Cliffe Avenue near 26 Street when he was struck just before 2 p.m.
Paramedics rushed him to hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries and pronounced deceased.
His wife did not suffer any injuries.
First responders called to the scene discovered several vehicles had also been crashed into.
On Tuesday police said they’d be recommending charges including impaired operation of a motor vehicle causing death.
She was released from custody on a promise to appear in court at a later, unspecified date.
A woman who stopped to help the victim said she saw a number of people jump out of their vehicles to try to assist him.
“We had a doctor hop out of his car and a registered nurse, and an off-duty paramedic, and we all started to try to help him,” said Ruby Orvis. “There were so many helping hands and kind hearts.”
A café owner near where the crash occurred said the stretch of road is a dangerous one.
“People are speeding all the time, and with the suicide lane in the middle, it’s scary,” said Dave Keelan “This incident changed how many lives in the flash of an eye, and his poor wife will never be the same.”
An investigation into the death continues, with officers from the RCMP’s traffic section, general investigation section, and Integrated Collision and Reconstruction Service all looking into it.
