Two people injured in a serious car crash last week are getting help from the public, with some notable support coming from a local businessman.
Just after midnight on Sunday, August 25th, a man fleeing police blasted through a red light at the intersection of Bay and Douglas, smashing into three cars.
Ryan Burghart, owner of the Budget Brake and Muffler at that corner, caught the incident on tape thanks to his security camera.
Burghart found a GoFundMe page for one of the victim's, Cheryl, and decided to take it a step further than a simple donation, and find her a new vehicle.
"One of her things mentioned on her GoFundMe page was that she was a travelling nurse, she has two kids who need to get back and forth to school, and she was not able to get a vehicle right away. And of course the process with who's at fault and ICBC isn't just 'go buy a new car', it's a process. So she was worried about having no vehicle in the next month or so before that gets figure out and that's where we said 'Hey, I'm in the business to find something, let's get her a new vehicle.'"
He said he talked with the owner of a local car lot he usually works with, who said they'd pitch in aswell to buy her the car. She's looking for something a little bit bigger and safer than what she was driving at the time of the incident.
A man named Aaron was also seriously injured in the crash, and has to wait for ICBC and WorksafeBC to look over his claims, which Burghart says makes his situation more complex.
"The vehicle he was driving was a company vehicle, so there's no direct loss of vehicle for himself. So, from myself, I couldn't do something direct. I did offer to step up for some glasses that were damaged in the accident, and I guess there's been another company that has set him up with some glasses as well at this point."
The third driver involved in the collision has not been identified,
The GoFundMe pages, which can be found for Aaron here, and for Cheryl here, are collecting funds to help pay for rent, bills, food, utilities, and other essentials.
The man who red the ran light fled the scene on foot after causing the crash, but was apprehended by police shortly after.