A 73-year-old Busselton man went from being an independent and active senior to bed ridden after being hit by a car.
Doug Sleight was crossing Bussell Highway at the Queen Elizabeth Avenue turn off when he was struck by a car on April 2.
His wife Rose is pleading with the community to come forward to shed some light on the incident.
“There is a possibility he will walk again, but it’s going to be a long time,” she said.
Mr Sleight was admitted to Busselton Hospital with two bleeds on the brain, a shattered hip, fractured femur, and multiple abrasions.
Mrs Sleight said he had never been dependent on other people before and was struggling to come to terms with his shattered hip which would keep him in bed for at least six weeks.
“He’s feeling pretty down because he never thought he would end up like this,” she said.
Mrs Sleight said her husband was walking back towards home after checking on a friend’s house when he was struck by the vehicle.
“It was a busy time of the day and we really want people to come forward to find out what actually happened,” she said.
“There must have been people who saw the incident.”
Mr Sleight was airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital on the night of the incident and remained there in the trauma unit until last Wednesday when he was transferred to Shenton Park for rehabilitation.
Mrs Sleight said whilst her husband did not remember the incident, he was an extremely cautious person and said she had never known him to be reckless.
“It’s hard when you hear rumours around town that he was weaving in and out of cars or that he was drunk – that’s not Doug at all.”
Mrs Sleight wanted to extend a sincere thank you to the staff at the Busselton Hospital who assisted Mr Sleight on the night of the incident and Constable Woolhouse for his assistance throughout the investigation.
“Too often the police don’t get a thank you,” she said.
“The staff at the hospital were just excellent and put me at ease knowing that Doug was in good hands that night.”
If you have any information about the incident, contact constable Brent Woolhouse at the Busselton police station on 9754 9555 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
“We’d greatly appreciate to know what really happened that day,” Mrs Sleight said.