A vehicle believed to be involved in a hit and run collision back in March has been seized by Nanaimo RCMP.
The crash resulted in a woman being sent to hospital with significant injuries.
Just after 3:20 p.m. on Friday, March 4th, police, EHS and Lantzville Fire responded to reports of two pedestrians and their dogs being struck by a vehicle which fled the scene.
Upon arrival, officers were met by Geoff who told police that he, his wife June and their two dogs Marley and Taz had been struck by a black SUV.
According to Geoff, the family was walking single file along the shoulder of the road facing oncoming traffic with June at the back of the line.
Both he and June had control of one dog each, who were on short leashes.
According to Geoff, without any advance warning, a vehicle approached from behind and drove directly into June.
The force pushed June into Geoff and all four of them fell into the ditch.
Geoff managed to crawl out to the roadway and saw that the suspect’s vehicle had stopped a short distance from them.
He yelled for the driver to help, however, the vehicle sped off toward Superior Road.
Police said Geoff was able to flag down another vehicle and the driver called 911.
When officers arrived on scene, June had already been triaged at the scene by paramedics and transported to hospital with significant non-life threatening injuries.
One of the couple’s dogs was seriously injured and required surgery to repair one of its legs. The other dog suffered serious bruising.
The suspect’s vehicle sustained damage to the driver’s side as pieces of the vehicle were found at the scene.
According to Geoff, it was a clear day with no other vehicles or pedestrians in the area and neither he nor June heard the vehicle approaching.
The ongoing investigation lead Nanaimo RCMP to a home in Lantzville where a vehicle was seized for a forensic investigation. The owner of the vehicle was identified and provided a statement to investigators.
“The victim was notified of these developments and is grateful that the investigation is moving forward,” said Constable Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.
“Police are also confident in saying that there are others in the community who have knowledge of this incident but for unknown reasons, they have not come forward,” said O’Brien.
Police said no charges have been laid.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345.
