Shocking video of a distracted driving crash that sent a B.C. pedestrian flying through the air is being used as a warning for other motorists.
The disturbing footage shows a 64-year-old man at a marked crosswalk in Abbotsford on Dec. 10, 2012 when a vehicle zooms through the intersection.
The impact of the crash throws him off his feet; he crashes down onto the pavement roughly two car-lengths down the road.
Abbotsfor Police Const. Ian MacDonald pointed out that just a few feet behind the victim, a woman was walking with two toddlers and pushing a baby in a stroller.
“We could have had five fatals in that crosswalk,” MacDonald said. “It would have been cataclysmic.”
MacDonald said the driver involved was momentarily distracted by glancing at her purse. The victim survived, but police said he has a long road of recovery ahead of him.
The Abbotsford Police Department released footage of the crash Tuesday in hopes of deterring other drivers from making the same mistake.
The force is asking the public to share the video with friends and family as a jumping off point to discuss road safety.
Mounties in nearby Surrey released statistics suggesting distracted driving offences may actually be on the rise; officers handed out nearly 800 distracted driving tickets in February alone, roughly 100 more than the same period last year.
