Two pedestrians hit at downtown intersection

KELOWNA – Two teenagers suffered minor injuries after they were hit by a pickup truck while jaywalking across Bernard Avenue at Richter Street Thursday evening.

RCMP Const. Steve Holmes says witnesses saw three males in their late teens cross Bernard northbound at around 5 p.m. before two of them reversed their direction unexpectedly and “bolted back across the intersection.”

A driver of a red Dodge pickup travelling eastbound was going through the intersection on a green light and was unable to brake in time to avoid the collision.

"The 10-metre skid marks clearly prove to me that the driver tried desperately to stop but he was too close and the wet pavement didn't help," Holmes says. "The outcome could have been a lot worse if the driver hadn't tried to brake. He was extremely shaken up by the incident."

One of the men suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries and to be taken to hospital. The other man was only slightly injured.

Holmes says there is no evidence speeding was a factor and charges are not being considered.

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