The kin of an Edmonton maiden currently admitted to the ICU are pleading for aid in locating the responsible driver who struck her whilst driving and consequently absconded.
The world of Alexandra Bonilla took an unprecedented turn on the final day of August while she was longboarding in the vicinity of her residence at 96 Street and 115 Avenue. Shortly after having telephonic interaction with her father to give him information of her whereabouts, a vehicle collided with her and rapidly fled eastwards on 115 Avenue.
Relaying the events of the unfortunate night, Julia Gevenich, sister-in-law to Bonilla confessed to the unsettling intuition her father had. He had just finished conversing with Bonilla and had voiced his unease to her, advising her to alert him once she reached home safely. The harmony of the night was doused as Bonilla’s father, later on, discovered she had met with a severe mishap and was in a critical state.
Gevenich admitted the speculation of the extent of the damage led to the family fearing the worst. Bonilla sustained grievous injuries to the majority of her ribs, pelvic region, a femur, a collarbone and numerous bones of her spine. She also suffered punctures in both her lungs and substantial internal bleeding in her chest, leading to justified fears of potential brain damage.
The horrifying condition Bonilla was left in and the shocking abandon by the perpetrating driver renders the family unable to make sense of this grave incident. Gevenich recounts the evident signs at the site of the accident that the driver made a deliberate maneuver past Bonilla to exit. Eyewitness accounts from locals indicated the driver pulled over for a brief period, examined his vehicle and then sped off.
According to Gevenich, the horrific scene of the driver examining his vehicle and then taking off, leaving Alexandra in her devastating state, without any attempt to alert emergency services, breeds both disgust and outrage in the hearts of her family.
Following the incident, Bonilla has undergone multiple surgical procedures and continues to recover in the Royal Alexandra Hospital Intensive Care Unit. The possibility of her being discharged from the hospital by Christmas is slim and uncertainty shrouds the prospects of her ever being able to return to her normal life. Questions about Bonilla’s future mobility have also been raised, with mentions of a potentially long-term disability.
A GoFundMe initiative has been set up to facilitate financial assistance for Bonilla’s treatment and recovery process. Besides dealing with the physical and emotional trauma of this ordeal, the survivor still has to account for daily expenses such as mortgage payments, utilities, and care for her pets.
The family is also seeking assistance in finding the driver of the hit-and-run incident, hoping for some form of closure. The only information currently available about the assailant’s vehicle is its silver color, with a possible damage to its radiator due to the collision. The family is appealing to auto repair workshops to report suspiciously damaged vehicles resembling the given description.
Finally, Bonilla’s family and the EPS are haplessly calling on people to provide any CCTV or dashcam footages from the area between 9 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. on August 31, and by extension, to serve justice.
