A woman from B.C. found herself in the precarious position of playing ambulance for a bloodied and badly injured stranger last week, after an alleged shooting victim forced his way into her car and demanded a ride to the hospital.
The event occurred on the evening of Thursday, June 16 in Surrey, B.C., as the woman was driving her autistic son home from an appointment. When the duo came upon a man obviously injured and in trouble, she told her son to run to their nearby home and call 911 for help.
But when the child set off, the injured individual took it upon himself to enter the woman’s unlocked vehicle and order her to drive to the hospital.
“I don’t have automatic locks on my car, so I couldn’t lock the doors,” the woman being identified as “Jane” told CTV News, adding that the man was losing a lot of blood and appeared to be missing a hand.
“I didn’t know at the time, is he a bad guy? Is he a good guy?” she said. “…I really didn’t have time to think. I thought I was gonna die. I was scared that he was going to shoot me. Did he have a gun? I don’t know, right?”
The man collapsed when they reached Surrey Memorial Hospital, and police later confirmed the 38-year-old individual was known to them.
Jane then received a ride home from police as her vehicle had been taken into evidence, but was again shocked when it was dropped back off with blood still covering the interior, pooling on the seats and smeared on the doors and steering wheel.
“It’s like a recording going over and over and over in my head,” Jane told CTV News, describing the traumatic experience of seeing her car in that state. Her son is also dealing with the trauma, apparently drawing pictures of the man’s injuries. The family is now concerned about how they will get the boy to his treatments, which are more crucial than ever following the shocking sights.
Police encouraged Jane to contact provincial insurer ICBC, but when she did she was told the cleaning fees would not be covered as she did not have comprehensive coverage.
“Generally, in a situation like this, optional comprehensive auto insurance would cover the cost of repairing the vehicle for those customers who have purchased it from either ICBC or a private insurer,” an ICBC representative told CTV in an email. “To be clear, ICBC is not denying a claim from (Jane) but unfortunately there is no claim to consider based on her insurance coverage with us.”
Jane was instead told to contact Victim Services, who in turn passed the buck to the provincial Crime Victim Assistance Program, which often offers financial assistance for victims who require counselling, transportation, and crime-scene cleaning.
The single mother who collects disability now faces the daunting task of organizing and paying for the cleaning services up front, a financial act she says she is unprepared for, with no guarantee that the province will reimburse them for the cost.
Fortunately the family has had better luck on Gofundme [warning: images may be disturbing], where a fundraiser has already cleared the $3,000 goal for cleaning costs.
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