Emergency services on scene on Departure Bay Rd. on Wednesday, Jan. 22, involving a pedestrian hit at a marked crossing at Wingrove St. (submitted photo)

By Alex Rawnsley

dark coloured suv

Driver flees after hitting pedestrian in Departure Bay Rd. crosswalk

Jan 23, 2025 | 10:59 AM

NANAIMO — A 65-year-old man remains in hospital after being hit by a vehicle while crossing the street near Departure Bay Beach.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at around 6 p.m. at the Departure Bay Rd. crosswalk near Wingrove St. involving a southbound SUV failing to stop for the crossing pedestrian in the marked crosswalk, according to Nanaimo RCMP.

Reserve Cst. Gary O’Brien said the man suffered non-life threatening injuries but remains in hospital.

“We managed to obtain CCTV camera footage and also some debris at the scene which indicates the vehicle involved was a dark-coloured SUV. There’s no indication the vehicle stopped, and it continued to going southbound on Departure Bay Rd. [toward Brooks Landing] after striking the pedestrian.”

Witnesses reported seeing the man thrown a considerable distance from the impact and remaining in the street for some time.

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O’Brien said the vehicle would have sustained damage to the front right corner.

He added police are unable to be more specific about the make or model of the suspect vehicle until investigators have reviewed debris collected from the scene.

Investigators closed the area for several hours to gather evidence, which involved the flying of drones along Departure Bay Rd.

O’Brien said they are continuing to process everything.

“It’s a significant investigation of course, so we have to close it and maintain the integrity of the scene to collect all the forensic evidence. Drones are not uncommon to be used now by our collision investigation analysts, they give an excellent overview of the scene and any potential evidence we may have missed.”

Anyone with information, including dash cam footage along Departure Bay Rd. around the time of the incident is asked to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 1-250-754-2345, quoting file number 2025-2158.

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