On March 26, the North District RCMP reported that Quesnel RCMP had responded to a two-vehicle collision on Highway 97, near Dunkley Lumber.
At the time, the RCMP press release said the crash involved two logging trucks.
The vehicles had collided head on, said the statement, and one person had died at the scene.
The highway was closed in both directions for hours that day, as police investigated the crash.
Social media posts at the time indicated that the trucks were in fact not logging trucks, but a chip truck and a lumber truck.
Rob Green, a driver with Quesnel’s Arrow Transportation Systems, was the chip truck driver who survived the crash.
Rob was pulled from the wreckage by bystanders. He was taken to hospital in Prince George and suffered broken bones and burns.
His wife, Gloria, was notified of the accident by Arrow’s dispatch team. She was at home when she got the call.
“I freaked out. I lost my marbles. I wanted to talk to him,” she says.
With the highway closed due to the incident, Gloria was unable to get to her husband.
Family friends who happened to be in Prince George went to the hospital and got a phone to Rob, so Gloria could hear his voice.
Later, when the highway opened up, Gloria travelled with friends to Prince George, where she stayed with Rob overnight. He was air lifted to Vancouver the next day. He’s still in hospital there.
“We are at three weeks plus,” Gloria says from Vancouver.
Rob suffered burns to 30 per cent of his body and broken bones in both arms. One of his hips was shattered.
“On the 10th day, he got skin grafts done and on the 21st day, he got bone repaired,” says Gloria.
Although he’s undergone surgery on his hip, Rob won’t be able to walk for at least two months, the couple have been told, as his hip cannot bear weight.
On Wednesday this week, Rob sat up for the first time since the crash.
“We wheeled him down the hallway and he went outside for a minute and he said he enjoyed the fresh air. That was the first time he’s sat up,” Gloria says with emotion.
She says Rob is in a lot of pain and doesn’t remember the collision.
“He remembers being in a pile of snow, that’s all.
“All we know is what we’ve seen on social media. The RCMP hasn’t said anything in relation to it. I know the other driver passed, that’s all we know. I know it was a lumber truck, and that it was a double trailer. We have nothing else on that.”
The North District RCMP have issued no updates regarding the incident and the other driver, as they continue to investigate the crash, and the Observer was unable to discover which company the other truck was from.
Recovery
The burns on Rob’s face were superficial and have mostly healed, but it will be many months until the remainder of his injuries are better.
“His left hand might need more surgery because it’s the worst of all the burns. We have to wait and see,” says Gloria.
Gloria is staying in Vancouver, sleeping at a hotel and spending her days at the hospital. She says both their employers have been very supportive. Arrow paid for her flight to Vancouver and her first week in the hotel, and her bosses at Safeway and Best Western have been generous in letting her have the time off that she needs.
“The support from our employers has been incredible. And the public’s help, it’s overwhelming. It’s going to be a long road.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the couple as they continue on Rob’s healing journey, and it has already raised $2,555.
“We are so thankful to everyone in Quesnel, our employers and all the people who have come forward and send love and prayers on Facebook. And we are so thankful for the strangers who saved Rob. We are trying to get those names so we can do a big open house or block party to show our appreciation, once he’s home and all is good,” says Gloria.
Gloria won’t leave Rob’s side. Five years ago, he did the same for her after she was involved in a head-on collision and suffered 18 broken bones.
“You wouldn’t believe our luck,” Gloria says.
“And then a few years into my healing, Rob had a heart attack. And now this.”
Despite everything, Gloria has a good attitude.
“We are due for some good luck, so if someone could put in a memo for that…” she jokes.
The couple have five adult children between them, and their home in Quesnel is being looked after by friends.
“This accident has made us so grateful. You become grateful for the littlest things,” says Gloria.
“He’s alive. And we are moving forward.”
To support the Green family, visit www.gofundme.com/support-for-rob-and-gloria-green.