Attack victim faces long road of rehab, says friend

One of four pedestrians struck by a rental truck in a weekend attack in Edmonton remained in intensive care in hospital awaiting surgery Thursday.

Hayley Bradford said her friend Kim O’Hara is in stable condition, but has a fractured skull and swollen brain.

Doctors are waiting for the 30-year-old to improve before

they can operate on her broken leg, she said.

O’Hara was out with friends Saturday night when a speeding U-Haul truck struck her and three others on Jasper Avenue.

Police said earlier in the night, the driver ran down and stabbed a city police officer on traffic duty outside an Edmonton Eskimos football game. The officer survived and Bradford said all the injured pedestrians except for O’Hara have been released from hospital.

“She’s got a long road of rehab ahead of her,” said Bradford, who has also started a GoFundMe page for O’Hara.

As of Thursday afternoon, the site had raised $16,000.

O’Hara, a recruitment worker at Mammoet Canada, has a nineyear-old son. Bradford said he has been told what happened to his mother.

“He feels sad for her, but says the hospital is taking care of her and she’ll get better.”

A co-worker of O’Hara’s, Jordan Stewardson, was among the injured, but is home recovering in Fort McMurray, said Bradford.

Court documents list Jack Zubick and Paul Biegel as the other wounded pedestrians. Police said Const. Mike Chernyk was stabbed in the face and head, but was expected to make a full recovery.

Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, a Somali refugee, is facing 11 charges, including attempted murder, dangerous driving, criminal flight causing bodily harm and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Police said an Islamic state flag was found in Sharif ’s vehicle.