Chris Puglia
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 02/03) - A Yellowknife man is wondering why he was run down by a snow machine, which he and witnesses say was no accident.

The incident occurred approximately 1:30 a.m., Dec. 27.

Mike, who does not wish to reveal his last name due to fear of retribution, said he doesn't remember a lot from the accident.

"The night is kind of a blur to me," he said. The impact knocked him out.

The story he has is pieced together from speaking with witnesses and his own fragmented memory. Two of the witnesses were his 11- and 12-year-old nephews who watched the scene from their window.

"They love Ski-doos and to see them do tricks, so they came to the window to watch," Mike said. What happened was not what anyone expected.

Mike said the snowmobile pulled up beside him and his two friends near the intersection of Butler and Borden near Range Lake.

The trio were walking home from Forty Below Golf where they regularly go to watch hockey.

"One of my friends went over thinking it was someone we knew.

"The guy slowly accelerated and pushed him out of the way," said Mike.

The snowmobile then continued down Borden.

"The next thing I knew there was a Ski-doo coming at me at 60 or 70 miles an hour," he said.

Mike said he tried to jump out of the way, but the driver swerved right at him and barely missed hitting him full on.

"A half step to the right is all that saved my life," he said.

However, it didn't save him from injury.

The snowmobile clipped his left leg and caused serious damage. He had to be medevaced to Edmonton for treatment.

"I did a complete flip in the air," he said. The impact dislocated Mike's left knee and shattered his upper tibia. It also caused tendon and ligament damage.

He said he is waiting for the swelling to go down so the doctors can determine if he will require surgery. He is still in shock about the whole incident.

"I just moved back here. I never expected this to happen in Yellowknife. What is this town coming to?" Mike said.

He and his friends have been thinking a lot about the accident, but have not been able to think of a motive.

"I can't think of any reason why anyone would do that to anyone, or why they would do it to me," he said.

Greg Short, a friend of Mike's, is helping to try to find the person responsible for the hit and run by posting flyers over town describing the accident.

"We're trying to find someone who saw what happened," or knows of a recently damaged snowmobile, said Short.

"There is no reason for it. We want to find this guy and get him behind bars," said Short.

The RCMP are investigating the accident.