What Mounties describe as a freak accident in Nanaimo on the weekend sent a Port Alberni man to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The 59-year-old man was airlifted to Victoria General hospital after the pickup his wife was operating backed over him.
The mishap occurred Monday just before 10 p.m. at a home in the 3500 block of Monterey Drive.
The man’s wife, 57, and their daughter, 40, were in the truck parked on a steep driveway, while the woman's husband was standing on the curb.
Police said the woman shifted the vehicle into reverse, but could not reach the emergency brake to release it, so she got out of the truck to pull the brake release, which sent the truck backing down the driveway.
The woman was thrown sideways and was hit by the driver’s door. The vehicle continued rolling down the driveway then struck and rolled over her husband. Their daughter was in the passenger seat, but could not stop the vehicle in time.
Several people in the home helped the man until paramedics and police arrived. He was taken to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, then airlifted to Victoria with head and internal injuries.
The woman received scrapes and bruises but did not require hospitalization.
Her husband was listed in critical condition Tuesday.
Nanaimo RCMP Traffic Services were on scene with a collision analyst for several hours. The incident is still under investigation and there has been no decision regarding charges.