A boy is recovering from a broken leg following a hit-and-run in Calgary, where the suspect driver fled and other drivers drove around him as he lay in the middle of the road.
Bentley St John was on his way to the bus stop for school in Taradale on Tuesday morning when he was hit by a driver who never stopped.
“I’m pretty mad about it,” the 12-year-old said.
“I hope this doesn’t happen again.”
St John’s leg was broken in three places, with CCTV video capturing the whole incident.
He checks his left and right before stepping into the crosswalk.
As St John makes it halfway across the road, a four-door white sedan with a sunroof and tinted front windows hits him, throwing him backward.
“When I got into the middle, I got my leg run over, and I broke three bones,” said St John from his couch.
“There were like two cars who went past and who didn’t care because they just drove and did not help me.”
Security footage shows St John lying in the crosswalk, with two cars driving around him.
“He almost has to crawl and roll out of there before anybody even acknowledges the fact that he was hit by a vehicle,” said Garry Sinclair, St John’s uncle.
“People are just in too much of a hurry.”
Sinclair says the video is horrific, with St John screaming for help from being in so much pain.
“I guarantee, you know you hit somebody; stop your car,” said Sinclair.
St John’s sister was working in Okotoks when she got the call more than two hours later.
“I ended up breaking down in tears. My brother is my best friend,” said Jaden Jacobson.
“I think the part that hurt me the most was you see him physically rolling himself away in the video and just trying to get off the road, and people are going around him.”
She says she is thankful her brother is OK.
“My brother got lucky with the situation with a broken leg, but it could have been much worse,” said Jacobson.
Police looking for driver
Calgary police say they are looking for the public’s help in identifying the driver involved in the hit-and-run of St John.
The incident occurred around 7:10 a.m. at Taradale Drive and Tarington Way N.E.
“It is believed the boy was crossing the road at a marked crosswalk when a white, four-door sedan entered the intersection and struck him,” read a media release from police.
“The car drove off without stopping. Bystanders assisted the boy, and he was transported to hospital in stable condition.”
Police have released photos of the suspect vehicle.
St John’s family says they have a message for the driver.
“You’ve hurt my 12-year-old brother. He can’t go to school now. He can’t go to his friends. His winter activities are pulled off. You have hurt a kid,” said Jacobson.
“You know we’re looking for you. You know the whole city’s looking for you. Just show up and take accountability.”
St John says three people did eventually stop to help him, including one man who called police and EMS.
He says he is thankful for their generosity.
“He saw me get hit, and then he pulled over,” said St John.
“He got me some warm blankets so I could stay warm.”
The family has also set up a crowdfunding campaign to help with food and travel expenses between home and the children’s hospital for follow-up checkups.
St John and his family generally use transit, but he is unable to with a cast and crutches.
Anyone with relevant information or dash-cam footage is asked to call police at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
