Since her sister, Darlene Christine Smith, suffered serious injuries after a car struck her in Campbell River, Samantha Billy has been by her side at the hospital, anxiously hoping her sister will recover enough to see her family again.
Smith, 53, was rushed to the Vancouver General Hospital in the early morning hours on Nov. 10, after a vehicle ran over her while she was sleeping in a tent in a downtown Campbell River alleyway.
"She's got chest fractures; spine fractures," Billy said, her voice trembling as she fights back tears. "They might be putting a chest plate in her. She's having trouble breathing. She has head trauma, so she's having bad trouble with delirium. There's so much going on with her."
The driver of the vehicle was discovered at the scene and an investigation is underway by members of Campbell River RCMP鈥檚 General Duty, Major Crime, and Forensics units, said Const. Maury Tyre of the Campbell River RCMP. BC Highway Patrol collision analysts are also involved in the investigation.
At this time, intoxicants have not been ruled out as a contributing factor in the incident, he said.
Dan Sanvidge, Smith's cousin, said he witnessed the incident from his room in Harbourside Inn that night. For several nights after, he said he struggled to sleep, haunted by the screams he heard.
"I heard a vehicle hit a shopping cart then I saw it went towards the corner where my cousins and niece are living in their tent," he said. "When (the driver) got out, the vehicle door hit my aunty who was visiting my cousin and my niece."
He said the car then appeared to be leaving, heading toward the other end of the alley, but didn鈥檛 go far. The driver reversed the car suddenly and it rolled back and tragically ran over Smith, who was sleeping in the tent.
After two weeks without any media coverage of the incident, Billy said she is concerned the incident involving her sister 鈥� an unhoused Indigenous woman 鈥� is not getting the attention it deserves. But Billy said she intends to see that the individuals responsible are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
"Why does nobody care? She's human. She's an amazing lady," Billy said. "She didn't put herself in this situation. It's colonialism."
Smith was sent to the Catholic-run Christie Residential School on Meares Island, near Tofino, when she was young, Billy said. Both sisters attended the school and experienced abuse at the hands of their supervisor, she said. They continue to suffer the trauma of that experience.
"She doesn't deserve to be discarded," Billy said. "Street people have a rough enough life. No human is better than another human just because you have money and cars. These homeless people deserve attention and deserve to be loved. They're are somebody's family."
Smith is a member of the Nuchatlaht Tribe on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. She has been living in Campbell River since 2019.
Billy is worried about her sister, but she said she's getting excellent care at Vancouver General Hospital.
"I am grateful every day to all the nurses and staff that take the time to show her that she is worth living," she said. "That her life is worth saving."
As of Nov. 26, Smith remains in the hospital and is still on a ventilator that is helping her breathe.
