Jonah Pevach, 8, was airlifted to Vancouver Children's Hospital June 22, 2015 after he was run over by a van in West Kelowna.
Image Credit: Contributed
June 26, 2015 - 8:00 PM
KELOWNA – The 8-year-old boy run over by a work van in his West Kelowna neighbourhood earlier this week is out of the Intensive Care Unit at B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver.
Jonah Pevach was airlifted to Vancouver after he was allegedly run over by an employee of Abstract Design and Painting the evening of Monday, June 22.
The boy suffered severe injuries, according to RCMP Cpl. Joe Duncan, including broken ribs and at least one collapsed lung.
His mother Candice Loring says he is still badly injured but has been moved out of ICU and is breathing on his own.
“He’s still on oxygen but he’s smiling and giving me kisses,” she says.
Loring, her husband Steve and their other son are with him in Vancouver and hoping doctors have some good news for them soon.
“We don’t know how long we’ll be here,” she says. “He’s stronger than any of us, though. He’s a fighter.”
A neighbour and friend of the family, Alexandria Holtz, says Jonah was playing in the street when the van came speeding through the neighbourhood. She says Jonah’s father, Steve was outside but unable to reach his son in time to help.
“The guy came flying around the corner and Steve didn’t even have time to get up,” Holtz says. “The van hit (Jonah) dead on and dragged him.”
The 55-year-old man alleged to have been behind the wheel has yet to speak publicly about the incident and repeated calls to the company were not returned.
RCMP Const. Kris Clark says no charges have been laid, but that does not imply he was not at fault.
“It’s not unusual for it to take months for charges to be brought against someone in a case like this,” he says. “Even with a serious collision investigation, we gather all the information before proceeding.”
The accident happened around 4:30 p.m. on June 22 at the Okanagan Metis and Aboriginal Housing Society on Ingram Road. The housing society is a low-income complex for aboriginal people with children.
Calls to society administrator Susan Walker were not returned.
The van alleged to have run over a West Kelowna boy Monday, June 22, 2015.
Image Credit: Global Okanagan (with permission)
To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015