The family of a 23-year-old Campbell River man who was trapped in a crushed vehicle for five days has started a campaign to raise money for the seriously injured survivor.
Duncan Moffat remains in an intensive care unit at Victoria General Hospital after his truck went off a cliff south of Sayward and he was pinned in the vehicle.
Moffat was unable to move after suffering multiple broken bones and internal injuries. Not only was he trapped, but he was out of cellphone range so he had no way of contacting anyone.
He survived on a crate of apples and a bit of Gatorade, according to family.
He was found by chance by a hunter on Tuesday afternoon and taken by air to hospital for treatment of a broken shoulder, ribs, a broken leg and a partially collapsed lung.
An online fundraising campaign has been created to raise money to help the young man recover.
His family said Wednesday that Moffat had more injuries than initially thought. He also has a broken clavicle and a number of internal organ injuries.
“It is a miracle he survived,” said Molly Fraser, Moffat’s cousin, who set up the fundraising campaign.
“Duncan has experienced severe trauma both mentally and physically and requires help to get through this. All donations will go toward his recovery program including physiotherapy, counselling, recovery equipment and much more.”
Fraser said Moffat had just finished a seasonal job at the fish plant on Quadra Island.
She added that at this point they don’t know when he will be able to stand again, so it could be a long time before he is able to return to work.
Fraser noted that Moffat will not only require physical therapy, but also counselling because he suffered severe mental trauma while he was trapped for five days.
“We want to make sure he gets the proper help he needs,” she said.
Moffat’s uncle, Bill Macnab, told The Canadian Press that Moffat had been out of touch with the family for almost 10 days, but he believes he was stuck in the truck, which was 12 metres down the side of a cliff, for five days.
Macnab said the harrowing rescue took several hours, as rescuers needed the Jaws of Life to cut away the driver’s side of the vehicle. His father, Glen Moffat, phoned family members from the scene and reported his son had survived.
Moffat’s grandfather, Alex Moffat, says he’s a “very, very lucky boy” and described the hunter’s discovery of the wreckage as “one chance in a million.”
— With files from The Canadian Press
