An Orillia man is still reeling and facing a lengthy recovery after he was injured in a hit and run last week.
Kevin Matthies, 33, was taking his dog, Tyr, for a walk on Mary Street at about 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 10 when he heard a vehicle speed up as it approached down on him from behind.
“I turned around and saw an SUV coming right down the middle of the sidewalk,” Matthies said. “I was able to save my dog, who only has a couple of scrapes, but I took the full impact.”
As Matthies crawled to safety, he yelled for somebody to help him. Neighbours rushed to his aid and called 911. He was taken to Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital before being moved to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto the next morning.
On Thursday, he was moved to the St. John’s Rehab Program at Sunnybrook.
Matthies does not feel the incident was a case of impaired driving. He thinks it was intentional.
“It seemed like the driver was either attacking me or my dog,” he said. “We don’t know anything about why this happened.”
While he is recovering from fractures to his pelvis and lower spine, the most difficult part of his healing process has been the mental impact of the incident.
“I’m probably one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. That’s why it’s been hard for me to wrap my head around why this would happen. It’s been bothering me since I’ve been in the hospital over the last week,” he said.
“People know me around town as the ‘wizard of Orillia’ for my cannabis-helping knowledge. At least from what I know, I don’t have any enemies.”
Matthies, who works at The Den Cannabis Store on Atherley Road, is out of a job until he can make a full recovery.
“I’m just learning to stand again without being in excruciating pain,” he said. “Even trying to sit down or move around is painful.”
The incident has “taken a big toll,” he said.
“I haven’t been able to live my life the way I’d like to or see my friends.”
Jaze Hart, a close friend, started a GoFundMe to help Matthies with his bills while he is out of work. At the time this article was published, it had raised $3,860 of the $10,000 goal.
“It’s lovely to see that the people that I have touched in my life are kind of paying it forward and helping me out,” he said. “It’s very lovely seeing people are supporting my family and making sure I’m not going to be homeless by the time I’m done all of this physical therapy.”
He hopes the community can band together to find the person responsible for his injuries.
“From talking to other neighbours on the street, they’ve said this isn’t the first time this has happened in the last little bit,” he said. “There have been other people who have been walking their dogs and this kind of thing almost happened to them.”
While Orillia OPP officials did not provide comment in time for this article, anyone with information is asked to call OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Anonymous tips can be provided at crimestopperssdm.com.
The vehicle that hit Matthies is described as a 2019 to 2023 grey Ford Edge Titanium. It likely has front-end damage.
