Cab driver taking it one step at a time
Fundraising campaign started for other driver in motor-vehicle accident
A fundraising campaign has been started for the other driver in the two-vehicle accident on Welton Street Saturday morning.
William Corbett, 49, had just started his shift at City Wide Taxi where he has worked for 21 years. After grabbing a coffee, Corbett was on his way to his first pickup in Ashby when the accident happened.
Corbett sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries: his left arm is shattered, he has two broken ribs, he received 22 stitches in his head and his left leg is broken at the upper thigh and the knee. Pins have been inserted in his knee and his leg.
Although it is unclear when he will be able to return to work, Corbett said he does have a lengthy recovery ahead of him.
The fundraising campaign, which includes a GoFundMe and a variation of Chase the Ace, was started by people who know him from taking his taxi.
“I didn’t even know about it until a girl came in to see me yesterday. I think it is really sweet of them. Really nice,” Corbett, who grew up in Whitney Pier and now lives in South Bar, said.
Even though Corbett is going to be off work for an extended period of time and has no health insurance because he is self-employed, he seemed more concerned that his cat, Hunter, doesn’t have someone to snuggle with at night.
“He’s probably down there crying. He gets right lonely, the poor little thing,” he said.
“But stuff like this happens so unexpectedly. It’s sad. But he’s looked after… my buddy.”
Corbett is also worried about the welfare of the other driver in the accident, Shanna MacDonald, a 23-year-old single mother.
MacDonald was airlifted to hospital in Halifax. Updates from a family friend on Facebook say MacDonald underwent surgery on Monday to check her internal organs, which the doctor said looked good. MacDonald is still being watched for brain swelling but the updates say she has been awake and squeezing the hands of family who are by her side.
“All I’m worried about, instead of finger pointing … why don’t we just work on recovering and let’s just do that,” he said. “Let’s just get through this … God love her. That poor young woman.”
Corbett said he is a “tough cookie” and that he’ll get through recovery regardless of what it takes to do that. For now, he is taking things one step at a time.
“I will be in here until at least Easter. That’s my first hurdle … Once I get over this hurdle I’ll get over my next hurdle. And if that’s six months to get better I will figure something out.”