‘He was run over’: Daughter of hit and run victim in Nanaimo speaks out

CHEK
WatchThe daughter of a homeless man who was the victim of a brutal hit and run in Nanaimo earlier this month is speaking out about the incident and an online fundraiser that has been organized for her dad. Dean Stoltz has more.

From her home in Calgary, Kayleen Salter is still almost speechless about what someone did to her dad earlier this month.

“I’m still in total shock,” she said Monday “You know that’s my dad, he was run over, I just can’t fathom that right now. It’s crazy.”

Her dad is 45-year-old Charles Samuel Salter, a homeless man who was pushing his cart along Victoria Avenue near 102nd Street on July 10, when he was approached by people in a black car.

Some words were exchanged before he was pepper-sprayed and then run over twice, according to the Nanaimo RCMP.

“He was on the ground, he was screaming ‘why why why.’ I was told that there are tire tracks all over his body,” she added.

Salter, who is still in the hospital recovering from numerous broken bones and lacerations, has lived on the streets of Nanaimo for many years — the result of mental health and addiction that has a grip on many others in the city.

RELATED: Homeless man run over and pepper-sprayed in Nanaimo, police investigating

However, Kayleen says in their younger days, he was a good dad and that she and her brother are heartbroken by what happened.

“So it’s great that I can come down and tell him I love him,” she said.

They’ve started a GoFundMe initially so they could visit him, but as more donations came in from caring people, they say it could be an opportunity to change his life for the better.

“My auntie and I are currently working on setting up a trust fund so that the money can go towards paying for any sort of treatment he might need, anything he might need for recovery,” said Kayleen.

This could include drug and alcohol counselling, and Kayleen stresses the money will not be given straight to her dad.

“Everybody I’ve talked to, all of his friends, we hope that something good can come out of it,” she said.

Although Nanaimo RCMP continues to investigate the hit and run, no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP’s non-emergency line at 250-754-2345 and quote file #2021-25532.

Charles Samuel Salter, now 45, is recovering in a Nanaimo hospital after he was run over by a black car on July 10. (Photo contributed to CHEK News)

Charles Samuel Salter, now 45, seen here in an undated photo provided to CHEK News.

 

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Dean StoltzDean Stoltz

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