Calgary woman clings to life after being hit by backing SUV
Adrien Gottli was starting her day by taking her new puppy for a walk when she was struck by a woman backing up an SUV in northwest Calgary last week.
Now the Calgary grandmother is clinging to life at the Foothills Medical Centre, while her worried family keeps vigil by her bedside.
“Right now, the outlook is bleak,” said Laszlo Gottli, her husband of 37 years, adding she is stable but has a slim chance of recovery. “It appears her whole face has been broken in some way.”
Police say on July 28 around 10 a.m., a woman was reversing her Honda CRV out of her driveway in the 0 to 100 block of Hawkwood Drive N.W.
Adrien, 56, happened to be walking by on the sidewalk with her four-month-old Hungarian Puli, Matyi, when she was struck.
Officers and paramedics arrived to find Adrien suffering from serious injuries. She was taken to Foothills Medical Centre in critical life-threatening condition where she continues to fight for her life.
Laszlo said medical staff told him Adrien was not only hit but the vehicle also drove over his wife’s head, which is why she sustained so much facial damage.
Initially, Matyi had run off and police were searching for the small black canine. But the dog returned home on its own, Laszlo said.
“When we got home from the hospital, he was cowering in our yard waiting to come into the backyard,” he said, adding the pooch was physically unharmed. “I suspect he was pretty scared.”
Since then, Adrien has remained in a coma in the intensive care unit, her body covered in scratches and her face severely wounded.
Her two sons, daughter, parents and brothers — some of whom came from out of town — have all gathered at the hospital hoping for good news.
But it’s been rough on the family, Laszlo said, adding the couple’s six grandchildren still don’t really understand what’s going on.
“Adrien has always been the family pillar. She’s a very strong woman, dinners and all the rest of the stuff,” he said.
“She was very active, did two or three walks a day with the dog. She was very busy all the time. “This is a horrendous shock.” Laszlo said he’s also anxious for answers from the police, including how fast the driver was going, whether she was distracted, and whether she will be charged. He also can’t fathom how a vehicle backing out of a driveway could cause so much damage.
Acting Staff Sgt. Colin Foster with the Calgary Police Service’s traffic section said the investigation is still ongoing and the cause is still being determined. It’s not known yet if and when charges will be laid.
A reconstruction report being prepared will look at everything from sight lines to the whether the vehicle had a back-up camera and whether it was functioning at the time.
Foster said the driver was travelling at a low speed at the time, adding it doesn’t take high speeds to result in serious injuries when pedestrians are struck. This is the third low speed, vehicle back-up collision this year resulting in seri- ous injury or death.
“Because of the height of the pedestrian and the shape of the rear of the vehicle, it causes what we call forward projection,” Foster said.
He said he doesn’t have immediate evidence to show the pedestrian was run over in addition to being struck, although he said she did go under the vehicle. Many of those details are still under investigation.
Foster said he understands there is frustration in the length of time it’s taking for police to conduct their investigation.
“We want to make sure all the evidence is there before rushing to laying charges prematurely,” he added.
As Laszlo waits for updates, he said he continues to keep his fingers crossed for a better outcome for his wife.
“We are not giving up on her.”