Man killed in hunt for gas

A man who died after being struck by three different vehicles near Strathmore was probably walking on the highway to get gas for his car, say RCMP.

“He was walking to get assistance for his vehicle, that had broken down. We believe it ran out of gas,” Sgt. Kevin Reilly said, adding the vehicle was found about half a kilometre from where the man was hit.

Meanwhile, the driver of a pickup truck who drove away from the scene came into the Strathmore RCMP detachment on Monday afternoon to provide a statement to police, Reilly said. Charges are not expected to be laid against any of the drivers, police said.

RCMP were called to the Trans-canada Highway west of Highway 24 about 2 a.m. Monday after reports of a fatal collision.

A man was walking in one of the eastbound lanes when he was hit by three vehicles. The driver of one of the vehicles, a semi, called 911 and remained at the scene. While he waited for authorities to arrive, the body was struck by two more vehicles — a pickup and a van.

The driver of the van stayed. The pickup truck driver, who might not have realized he had struck a person, kept driving but contacted police that afternoon, Reilly said.

“They have all been offered victim services, which helps people through this type of trauma,” he said. “Most have taken it up to some degree.”

A portion of the TransCanada was closed for five hours after the crash as officers investigated.

The area is not well-lit, there are no homes or businesses nearby and there was “not a whole lot of traffic” at the time, Reilly said, though he still urged anyone with information about the incident to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

The victim’s name will not be released at the family’s request.