Saanich police are still without a name for the suspect of a hit-and-run incident that flung a teenaged cyclist 25 feet off her bike and into a ditch on Willis Point Road on Friday.
Megan Barnes, 14, was struck from behind and flew through the air when a pickup truck hit her bicycle as she was doing a training ride in Saanich. Barnes, of North Saanich, is a national level athlete who recently competed at the junior track nationals.
According to multiple accounts, the driver fled the scene without stopping. She is described as a blonde woman, possibly heavier set and of average height. The car is described as a newer model Dodge Dakota, charcoal grey, with wooden sides on the box.
Barnes was taken to Victoria General Hospital with minor injuries, though she’s lucky to be alive, having landed on a grassy embankment.
Saanich police Sgt. Jereme Leslie said they received new information Monday, but as of late Tuesday, no suspect had been identified or taken into custody.
With word of the potentially targeted crash spreading around the local cycling community last weekend, an unconfirmed story made the rounds about two other young competitive cyclists who said they were involved in a similar event with a pickup truck.
One rider was said to have crashed into the back of the truck when the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes, after which the vehicle fled the scene. The other rider apparently followed the vehicle and took a photo of the truck and the licence plate.
“There’s no connections to any other hit and runs right now, we do not have the license plate,” Leslie said of the Friday incident. “We’ll continue looking for more evidence and for the identification of the driver and vehicle.”
– with files by Don Descoteau