A Campbell River man is in a medically induced coma after suffering a brain injury when he was hit by a cyclist riding on a sidewalk.
Phil Morey was walking to his car parked on the side of the road on June 14 when the fast-moving cyclist ran into him and knocked him to the ground, a fundraising page to help his recovery said.
The 17-year-old cyclist told first responders he was rushing to make a haircut appointment, according to Carrie Human, a family friend of Morey and his wife.
Morey is now in the intensive-care unit at Victoria General Hospital after surgery to remove the right temporal lobe of his brain, which is associated with facial recognition and memory.
After two weeks or more in the ICU, “he will be moved to the neurological trauma unit where he will continue to recover, maybe up to two months,” said a GoFundMe page started by Human.
“Once he is OK to return to Campbell River, it will be months if not years of neurological and possibly physical rehab.”
Morey and wife Kari Fredheim had just moved back to Campbell River from the United States.
The two had attended Campbell River’s Robron Secondary School together and renewed their friendship when they met at the 30th reunion of their graduating class.
They got married after a few years of cross-border dating and settled in the States.
The fundraising page said that after a few “job, family and political issues,” the couple decided to move back to Campbell River in March, and had just bought a house and found jobs.
”Everyone who knows Phil from school, job, ball, hockey, Boston Pizza, etc. know how special this guy is,” the page says.
An update from Fredheim this week said Morey is on medication to help with brain swelling and is also fighting an infection.
“When Phil’s ready, he’ll come back to us,” the update said. “In the meantime, the ICU care team have been rock stars. Clinical yet caring, strong yet sweet.”
Human said in a statement that friends and family want to stress the importance of bike safety.
“In the words of Phil’s son, Dylan: ‘If it could save just one person, then it’s worth it.’”
Campbell River RCMP Const. Maury Tyre said the accident changed “an entire family’s world” and the investigation is ongoing, noting cycling on the sidewalk isn’t permitted under the Motor Vehicle Act.
“The rules exist for a reason.”
The fundraising page is at .
Donations were closing in on the $22,000 goal on Thursday.
