Оленка приїхала до Ванкуверу з Одеси вивчати англійську мову 18 вересня цього року, проживала в сім’ї (homestay) в Північному Ванкувері.
Після нещасного випадку, що стався 28 листопада, потрапила до Lions Gate госпіталю, зараз перебуває вдома у однієї з українських родин, за словами лікарів видужання займе до 2х місяців. Деталі історії читайте далі англійською:
Ukrainian student hit and run in North Vancouver
Michael Ilyin
On the evening of November 28th, 2011 a young international female student from Ukraine brutally hit by a moving vehicle that was going so fast that the victim was thrown 30 meters, sustaining multiple injuries.
When a close friend visited Olena at the hospital that same evening prior to emergency surgery, she passed out and fell to the floor from the frightening vision of blood and broken bones protruding from her body.
Despite the trauma, the girl never lost consciousness, although she wished that she had in order to avoid the terrible pain that ensued after the collision. Olena remembers the most terrifying part of the ordeal being the length of time that it seemed for someone to come to her assistance. She thought she would die alone. But soon enough the noise of sirens and the hustle of the stretcher gave her the hope that she might be alright.
Olena remembers looking onto both directions of the street just before stepping onto the crosswalk, and then being suddenly thrown into the air without even a hint that there was a vehicle nearby. By the distance that Olena was thrown, the RCMP estimated that the vehicle must have been traveling over 100 km per hour. Had Olena landed on her head, this story would have had a different ending.
Have our lives become so fleeting that we no longer take the precautions to prevent such unnecessary and devastating tragedies? What scares me is that fact that, whoever the driver of this vehicle was, now has to live with what he or she has done. Olena is so grateful to be alive and seeks no retribution.
At this point all she would like would be for the driver to come forward and look at her in person to see what he or she has done to her. Is life so meaningless that we can be so callous and inconsiderate? What if this was your child that someone hit? We need to stop and think about why we are on such a hurry. Is life not worth more than that?
Olena came to Canada with a dream that she nurtured for many years. She came with optimism and hope to enhance her English and to work in and learn about another culture. With this nearly fatal accident, Olena now has to put her dream on hold indefinitely. Canada is the 3rd national destination for international students. If we as a country want to continue attracting foreign students, we need to assure them that they are coming to a safe place.
Olena is now finally out of Lions Gate Hospital and beginning to recover from this traumatic ordeal. Having her at our home, we want to reassure her that she made the right decision to come to our country, giving her the hope that her dream can still one day come true.
If you witnessed this accident please call RCPM North Vancouver Detachment at 604-985-1311, file #11-34426.
If you would like to support Olena in her recovery please send your donations to: RBC bank, account number 514-511-5, transit – 00490-003 or send cheques payable to Svitlana Kominko at 5095 Pandora Street, Burnaby, BC, V5B 1L5
For more information please contact Svitlana Kominko at 778-840-7997.