By Dylana Kneeshaw

Go slow in the snow

B.C. tow truck operator says enforcement and safety improvements are needed, following serious collision

Dec 22, 2019 | 3:25 PM

Malakwa, B.C. — A close friend of a tow truck operator who suffered serious injuries from a collision while on the job says people need to take extra care around working vehicles on highways.

Mike Horsley says his friend, John Brown, who is a tow truck operator out of Sicamous, has been hospitalized with extensive injuries after another vehicle collided with Brown’s tow truck.

According to Horsley, Brown was working on a vehicle recovery along Highway 1 near Malakwa Friday evening (Dec. 20) when his work vehicle was rear ended by a pickup truck.

“He (John) did indicate that he was on a straight stretch, was positioned appropriately, and had all his emergency lighting on, and this truck rear ended his (vehicle) hard enough to basically write off a five tonne truck,” explains Horsley, “It sent the deck right into the back of the cab.”

The injuries Brown suffered sent him to a nearby hospital in Vernon, then Horsley says his friend was taken to Kelowna where he was briefly treated in the Intensive Care Unit.

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“Pretty much the entire right side of his body is pretty broken up right now,” says Horsley, “He’s got broken bones and all kinds of lacerations or hemorrhaging in muscles and stuff from being struck by his own truck.”

Given that Brown’s line of work is based on commission, his income stream will likely suffer by him not being able to work. Among regular living expenses, Horsley says Brown is also paying for his recent wedding in the Philippines, and trying to bring his wife over to live with him in Canada.

To help out with bill payments, and other costs while Brown is recovering, Horsley started a GoFundMe campaign to assist his friend. (To access the fundraiser, click here)