Surrey Mounties are on the hunt for a hit-and-run driver who struck a 49-year-old man outside a Sikh temple over the weekend, leaving him in critical condition.
Victim Jagdev Singh Toor was clearing leaves near the back entrance of the Dasmesh Darbar temple, where is a longtime volunteer, at around 9 p.m. Saturday when he was hit.
Witnesses say the impact of the crash may have sent Toor as far as 20 feet from his leaf blower.
“Something flew up in the air,” said witness Shefali Gupta. “We came nearby and it was a man. He was bleeding so badly.”
The victim, who lives at the temple, was found with his head in a pool of blood and what appeared to be a broken leg. He was taken to hospital with serious brain and bodily injuries, and remained listed in critical condition as of Monday.
Dashmesh Darbar leaders say Toor is popular at the temple, where he initially sought refuge to deal with serious personal problems.
Gupta told CTV News there are no street lights at the scene of the crash, and that it may have been avoided if visibility was better.
“It is so dark I couldn’t see the car’s colour. I couldn’t see what car it was,” Gupta said.
“The city should provide some street lights on this road.”
Mounties say they’re looking for a red or maroon-coloured sedan, and are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact them immediately.
They also want auto body shops to watch out for cars coming in for extensive repairs.
Anyone with information on the hit-and-run can contact the Surrey RCMP Criminal Collision Investigation Team at 604-599-0502 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Bhinder Sajan
