Close call shakes driver
Chuck Taylor points to the damage caused to his vehicle in a scary incident on Highway 37S near the airport Sunday night.
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Updated: October 21, 2009 9:02 AM
Airport worker Chuck Taylor feels lucky to be alive after an incident on Highway 37S late last Sunday night.
The Northwest Regional Airport screening officer had just turned onto the highway for the drive home to Kitimat when he says his 2008 Jeep Wrangler was struck by a Terrace-bound pickup truck that crossed the yellow line.
The collision stripped the driver’s side mirror off the Jeep and caused several cracks in the windshield.
A shaken Taylor pulled off to the side of the road to recollect himself, before realizing the other vehicle had not stopped.
“It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I am very lucky,” said Taylor of the October 11 incident. “I feel very lucky, especially since most of the damage is at head height. A couple of inches either way, and I was a goner.”
Taylor said he believes it was a skidoo rack attached to the pickup truck that actually struck his vehicle. He issued a warning for other drivers to be alert when traveling between cities.
“I drive this every day,” he told the Sentinel. “Everyone should be keeping an eye out for other drivers.”
Corporal Darryl Peppler said the RCMP had “no indication that the incident was a hit-and-run,” adding that the damage may have been caused by a piece of unstrapped firewood or even wood kicked up between the two vehicles.
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With snow appearing on the mountain tops, Peppler reminds residents to have their vehicles equipped with winter tires by the end of October.
While all-seasons with a tread depth of 5/36 are acceptable, he urged people to buy good quality winter tires, adding, “You can’t go wrong with studs.”
He also encouraged commuters to use common sense and to set their speed according to conditions.
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