A Surrey tow truck operator who lost a leg and faces major surgery on the other is asking drivers to be more careful so fellow workers won't also have to suffer serious injuries.
Martin Butthof was struck by a car after he had pulled over to help a man whose vehicle had spun out off the side of Highway 91 in Richmond, B.C. on Jan. 15.
"I was just walking back to my truck, and my life changed forever, instantly," Butthof told CTV News.
The collision severed one leg from his body and broke the other into about seven pieces, he said. On Monday, Butthof will undergo reconstructive surgery on the remaining leg that will involve replacing a destroyed artery with an artery from the detached limb.
Butthof, who says his truck lights were on and that he was pulled off the side of the highway at the time of the crash, wants people to realize they need to slow down and be cautious when driving by workers on highways and roads.
"The only message I can get out there is when you see lights on a highway, they are on for a reason. People are working," he said.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Penny Daflos
