Tragedies compound for West Kelowna, Vernon families

CHILD STILL RECOVERING FROM CAR ACCIDENT, GRANDMA IN COMA FOLLOWING SEPARATE ACCIDENT

KELOWNA – The Vernon woman who was hit by a car at a crosswalk over the weekend is the grandmother of the eight-year-old West Kelowna boy who was dragged by a van in front of his parents this past summer.

Jonah Pevach, an eight-year-old boy with Down syndrome, was airlifted to Vancouver with life-threatening injuries after a van drove over his chest in front of his home and parents last June. Jonah suffered several broken ribs, a collapsed lung and other injuries but was released from the hospital a couple weeks later.

Now his grandmother, his spokesperson, is in hospital herself after being hit by a car, this time in Vernon.

Jonah's mother Candice Loring says this has been an exceptionally difficult year for them.

"We're all very upset," she says.

Pevach has been in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit of Kelowna General Hospital since the accident in which she suffered serious head injuries, broken ribs, a broken hip and numerous broken bones in her face. On Wednesday, Dec. 16, doctors took her out of her coma to see her response but Loring says things don't look good.

"She was non responsive," Loring says. "Basically she opened her eyes but she stared off blankly. She wouldn't squeeze their hand or anything, but she did reach for the ventilator. They are doing CT scans every 48 hours to watch for hemmorhaging in the brain."

Loring says she won't take Jonah to visit her until she wakes from her coma.

"He's doing well but when we told him what happened to his grandma he got very upset," she says. "He's still very scared of cars but he is back to full activity at school. He's a little trooper."

Pevach lives on disability so Loring has set up a GoFundMe page to help with expenses.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.