A woman is in critical condition and another recovering from minor injuries after a pickup truck slammed into a bus stop in Surrey Monday morning.
The women were waiting on a bench at 88 Avenue and 148 Street when the truck struck them around 8 a.m. The impact of the crash crumpled the bench and sent it into a nearby shrub.
The critically injured victim, who is in her 30s, was rushed to hospital – but police said it could have been even worse if not for the efforts of Good Samaritan Tabrez Hussein.
Hussein was in bed when he heard the crash, and went outside to see what happened.
“There was a young lady and she had both her legs severed,” Hussein told CTV News. “I was looking for something to kind of just stop the bleeding, I couldn’t find anything.”
Hussein, who knows first aid, eventually used his own T-shirt to tie around one of the woman’s legs. A bystander offered a scarf to tie around the other.
Surrey RCMP said it’s possible Hussein’s actions saved the woman’s life, describing her injuries as “catastrophic.”
The other victim suffered only minor injuries, even though she was sitting on the same bench. A witness said the woman was able to limp to the ambulance on her own.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. Cpl. Bert Paquet said it appears the truck ran through a red light then struck a van.
“The momentum of the pickup truck after the collision sent it to [the] bus stop,” Paquet said.
Both drivers remained at the scene.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Michele Brunoro
