Miranda Shaffer was airlifted in critical condition to Vancouver General Hospital, where she is undergoing a series of operations.<\/p>\n
A woman severely injured in a head-on crash on West Saanich Road on Tuesday involving an alleged drunk driver faces a long road to recovery and may never walk again, says her brother.<\/p>\n
Miranda Shaffer was airlifted in critical condition to Vancouver General Hospital, where she is undergoing a series of operations. She suffered two broken bones in her neck, a fractured hand and foot, multiple \u00adlacerations and a brain bleed, said Marty Milner.<\/p>\n
Shaffer was driving north on West Saanich Road with husband Josh Shaffer at about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday when their vehicle was hit head-on.<\/p>\n
Saanich police said the driver of the southbound vehicle, who appeared not to be injured, refused to provide a breath sample and was arrested on suspicion of impaired driving.<\/p>\n
Detectives with the Saanich Police Major Crime Unit have taken over the investigation and are recommending criminal charges.<\/p>\n
Milner said the families are devastated by the collision. The couple was just married in May.<\/p>\n
He said Josh Shaffer was conscious after the crash and able to crawl out of the wreck. He is now \u201cterribly traumatized.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone who knows Miranda and Josh knows they\u2019re a beautiful couple who are madly in love,\u201d said Milner, who has started an online fundraiser<\/a> to help the couple. \u201cThey deserved a healthy, normal start of\u00a0their marriage. That was ripped away from them, and they instead now have a long, painful and arduous road of recovery together that will change the rest of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Miranda\u2019s injuries are catastrophic. \u201c[She] is unable to breathe on her own, will likely never walk again and possibly will never be able to use her upper body as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The online fundraiser had already collected more than $71,000 of its $100,000 goal by Thursday morning.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, detectives want to speak with anyone who saw the truck involved in the crash anywhere on the Saanich Peninsula or southern Gulf Islands that day.<\/p>\n The vehicle is described as a grey 2003 four-door Chevrolet Silverado 4×4 with a distinctive rack in its bed that extends over the rear portion of the cab.<\/p>\n Anyone who saw the vehicle is asked to call 250-475-4321 and reference file 26-21541.<\/p>\n