The driver who was struck by a man fleeing from police on Highway 1 in Abbotsford on Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 23) has been released from hospital and is otherwise doing well.
Brandon Klemke said his 73-year-old father-in-law, Rod, is feeling sore and has a cut under his left eye and some significant bruises, but he has no broken bones.
The family is still waiting to see whether Rod has a concussion. They will know more after he visits a doctor.
“It didn’t seem like he hit his head very hard but definitely there was some shock and trauma,” Klemke said.
He said Rod had been driving east on Highway 1 in his 2014 Chevy Silverado pickup truck near Mt. Lehman Road just after noon on his way to an appointment in Abbotsford.
Rod spotted a car quickly approaching in his rear-view mirror.
“And then – boom! – it nailed him from behind, and then he was spinning. He believes he spun one, maybe two times around completely on the highway. And he was driving at regular highway speeds of 100 kilometres per hour, and then he ended up in the ditch,” Klemke said.
RELATED: Driver flees twice from police in Abbotsford, crashes into another car on Highway 1
Another driver who witnessed the incident stopped to help Rod and called emergency services.
Meanwhile, the other driver, who was in an SUV, got out of his vehicle and started walking along the freeway, but was apprehended.
Both Rod and the other driver ended up in the ER at Abbotsford Regional Hospital at the same time.
But Klemke, who describes his father-in-law as “one of the best guys in all of Canada,” said Rod took it in stride.
“He’s a good man. He wasn’t in a state of anger or rage.”
The Abbotsford Police Department reported on Wednesday afternoon that the incident began when the gang crime unit tried to stop a driver heading west on Highway 1 near Bradner Road.
The driver sped off and was next spotted by police on the eastbound shoulder of the freeway just east of Mt. Lehman Road.
The driver was out of the vehicle, but when he saw police, he got back into the SUV and again drove off. Shortly after, he crashed into Rod.
The other driver remains in police custody. Charges have not yet been laid.
Klemke said after the family heard about what had happened, they were joking that Rod was a hero for stopping an alleged criminal.
“Everybody was so happy to know that he was OK.”
vhopes@abbynews.com
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