On February 8th, 2009 at approximately 08:45 AM, members of the Portage la Prairie RCMP responded to a report of a pedestrian struck by a semi-truck on the #1 highway near highway #13 intersection.
Upon arrival, RCMP were assisted by Portage Emergency Medical Services. The victim, a 26 year old male was transported to the Portage la Prairie Hospital and a short time later transferred to the Health Science Centre in Winnipeg.
The male is listed in unstable condition.
Portage la Prairie RCMP along with RCMP traffic services continue to investigate.
Update 02/09/09 1:15pm:
The investigation so far has revealed that the pedestrian, a 26 year old man of Long Plain First Nation, was attempting to hitch-hike east. A semi trailer stopped to talk to the pedestrian who was in the middle of the roadway. The pedestrian jumped onto the semi to talk to the driver, who told the pedestrian he was going to pull over onto the shoulder. The pedestrian got off of the semi and backed into the path of an approaching semi. A Greyhound bus stopped to block the roadway as the pedestrian was in the middle of the lane. The driver of the Greyhound and a couple passengers got off the bus and covered the pedestrian with their coats and performed First Aid until the Paramedics arrived on scene. The pedestrian’s status has been updated, and he is now in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at HSC. The pedestrian suffered serious lower body and head injuries.
Alcohol is not a factor on the part of the semi driver. The collision is still under investigation.
Contact:
Cst MB Fehr
Portage la Prairie RCMP
tel: 204-857-4445
fax: 204-239-0130
