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Local senior injured after being hit by snowmobiler

Woman was walking her dog on Bass Line last night; 'Snowmobilers should not be driving there ... it was awful'
OPP crest
Image from OPP

Last night was like most nights for Susan May and her husband, Dave.

In fact, it was a nice moonlit evening when they went out for their nightly walk at about 6:45 p.m. with their black lab, Sassy.

Walking along Bass Line, they heard the familiar buzzing of snowmobile engines.

Wearing their cleats and spikes as they carefully walked on the side of the snow-covered road, a snowmobiler heading up from the lake, crossed the road and began coming directly towards them.

“My husband started waving the flashlight at him and kind of waving his arms, but he came directly at us,” said Susan of the harrowing experience.

Her husband was able to jump out of the way as the sled sped toward them. Susan, worried about Sassy, was able to tug the dog out of the snowmobile’s path as she tried to get to the relatve safety of the snowbank.

“I have hip and knee issues, so I was not able to jump out of the way,” explained Susan. “The guy ran over my left leg!”

With the help of neighbours, they managed to get back home and call police before heading to Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, where it was discovered she had fractured her foot.

An OPP officer met with her at the hospital, but he said “there is not much he can do.”

Unfortunately, the incident happened so quickly, they were unable to tell police the colour or make of the snowmobile and could not identify the driver.

May is beyond frustrated by the incident.

“He stopped a few feet away after he hit me,” she said, adding her husband waved his arms and yelled at the driver to stop. “But then he just drove away.”

She estimates he was driving much faster than 40 kilometres an hour - the posted speed limit for vehicles on the township road. The speed limit for a snowmobile is 20 kilometres an hour.

While worried about how the fracture might impact her plans and life, she knows it could have been much worse.

“One of my neighbours commented on Facebook that she had been walking along that same stretch of road an hour earlier with her baby,” said May.

She noted there are no sidewalks on the street and no streetlights.

“Snowmobiles should not be driving there at all,”’ she said.

She said she will be making a complaint to Township of Oro-Medonte officials when the office re-opens tomorrow.

Despite the ordeal, she is trying to maintain her sense of humour.

“I can just imagine my grandkids singing that song and changing the words to ‘Grandma got run over by a snowmobile,’” she joked.

But it is no joking matter, she stressed.

“I am grateful it was not worse but this is crazy that this could happen,” said the 63-year-old retiree. “I have never been scared to walk my dog, but now I am going to think twice. I’m just glad she was OK.”

She decided to tell her story as a cautionary tale to walkers and hopes snowmobilers might understand the consequences and slow down.

She is also hopeful someone might be able to identify the culprit and call police.

“It’s bad enough this happened to me .. I don’t want it to happen to someone else.”


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Dave Dawson

About the Author: Dave Dawson

Dave Dawson is community editor of OrilliaMatters.com
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