Vancouver police are looking for a suspect after a man was pushed into traffic near the PNE earlier this month.
It was just before 10 p.m. July 15 when two men left a concert at the PNE Amphitheatre and started walking on the north sidewalk of East Hastings near Windermere Street. The pair briefly stopped to check on the well-being of a young woman that appeared to be intoxicated.
The woman said she was fine and the two men kept walking. But seconds later they were confronted by an agitated man who had been walking behind the woman.
The man allegedly ran toward the two men and deliberately pushed one of them into traffic on East Hastings. The victim, a 37-year-old Surrey man, was struck and driven over by a white SUV that was heading west on East Hastings.
Unsure of what happened, the driver pulled over and waited for police. Witnesses tried to hold onto the suspect but he and the female, believed to be his friend, ran away before officers arrived a few minutes later.
The victim is recovering from serious, but not life threatening, injuries.
"They will be life changing," VPD media relations officer Const. Jason Doucette said about the victim's injuries.
“We have obtained dash-cam video from the SUV involved in the collision,” Doucette said. “We are asking the suspect to turn himself in, but if he doesn’t we are confident someone will come forward to identify him and his friend.”
The suspect is described as a Caucasian man in his mid-20s, between six-feet and 6’2” tall with a heavy, athletic build. He has short dark hair, dark stubble on his face and was wearing a black crew-neck T-shirt and shorts.
The woman is described as Asian, 20 to 25 years old, 5’2” to 5’4” tall with a slim build. She has medium length black hair and was wearing a white tank top or a sun dress.
Police are asking anyone with information about the suspect or his female friend, or who may have witnesses the assault and has not yet spoke to police, to call detectives at 604-717-2541 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Westside stabbings
Vancouver police arrested man in his 20s following two separate assaults in Kits Sunday morning.
The first incident took place at around 7:15 a.m. Police received a report of a stabbing at a residence on West 13th Avenue near Arbutus Street. Officers arrived to find a man in his late 20s with serious injuries.
Just minutes later police received a 9-1-1 call about a man with a knife, was bleeding from his chest, walking down Yew Street near West Fourth Avenue. As officers rushed to the scene, the suspect allegedly approached a woman walking her dog, stabbing the dog.
When officers arrived the bloodied suspect fought with police and officers had to use a beanbag gun to bring him under control. The suspect was then rushed to hospital.
The dog was rushed to an emergency animal hospital for treatment.
According to police, the suspect and the first stabbing victim are roommates and had been in an altercation before the suspect fled to the area of Yew and West Fourth.
Anyone who may have information about either incident is asked to call the VPD’s major crime section at 604-717-2541 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
@JessicaEKerr
jkerr@vancourier.com
