Severely injured Alta. teen recovering in hospital after dirt bike crash

A 15-year-old Alberta boy faces an arduous recovery after suffering severe injuries in a crash and spending an entire night on the side of the road earlier this month.

Zander King was riding on Range Road 362, just east of the QEII Highway and roughly 10 kilometres northeast of the town of Innisfail, on the evening of May 1 when a crash occurred. Both the injured teen and his relatively unscathed dirt bike were found in the ditch the following morning.

After reviewing surveillance footage, RCMP officials suspect the crash took place at around 9:30 p.m. and it wasn’t until just before 8 a.m. the next day that emergency crews were called to the scene. It’s believed Zander spent more than 10 hours alone and injured in the ditch.

It’s not known whether his bike was struck by another vehicle or if something caused him to swerve off the road.

The security camera recording shows a silver or grey vehicle travelling in the area at around the estimated time of the crash and RCMP investigators would like to speak with the driver in the hope they may be able to shed some light on what happened that night.

Zander’s father told Global News that his son was given only a 17 per cent chance of survival and only a 10 per cent likelihood of even regaining consciousness from his ‘vegetative state’ when he arrived at Calgary’s Alberta Children Hospital on May 2.

After spending more than three weeks in hospital, Zander — described by his family as a “farm boy,” the youngest of seven siblings, who plays AA hockey and snowboards — continues to make “small gains.”  He has begun walking with assistance and has recently resumed speaking. His dad, who has been with Zander in Calgary, says there is hope his son will be moved to hospital in Red Deer, closer to the family’s home, in the coming weeks to continue his recovery.

Anyone with information regarding the crash is encouraged to contact the Innisfail RCMP detachment at 403-227-3342 or anonymous tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers.

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