By Jasmine Franklin
What should have been a regular morning trip to the school bus stop for one teen ended with her in hospital and impaired driving charges against a Ponoka man.
The 13-year-old, who cannot be identified as she is a victim of crime, arrived home from Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital Oct. 25 with a torn spleen. She is ordered to bed rest for seven days and then one month without activity, including gym class.
On Oct. 22, at 8 a.m. an alleged impaired male driver in a white Chevrolet pickup truck stuck the girl while she was walking southbound on 38th Street.
The truck hit the teen from behind, sending her into the west ditch. She was air-lifted to the University of Alberta hospital by STARS air ambulance because of possible head injuries.
RCMP have arrested a 55-year-old Ponoka man and according to an RCMP press release, he has been charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, and operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of more than 80 milligrams per cent.
The driver is to appear in court Nov. 27.