Village of Beiseker ‘outraged’ over road rage incident injuring 80-year-old man
Posted Jan 7, 2024 2:00 pm.
Last Updated Jan 8, 2024 7:35 am.
The Village of Beiseker’s deputy mayor says people are disgusted and “outraged” by an attack on a resident following a road rage incident.
Mounties and the Beiseker Fire Department were called to the incident early Friday morning outside the gas station off Highway 9 just northeast of Calgary.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Troy Savinkoff tells CityNews a collapsible baton was used to seriously injure an 80-year-old man.
“We know that the assault was quite serious, and obviously when STARS is used, there is a concern for his life,” he said.
Mounties learned of the incident when a 56-year-old walked into the Beiseker detachment a few blocks away to let them know.
Investigators say the assault was the result of a road rage incident that occurred on the highway.
The suspect allegedly broke the victim’s vehicle window and stole his vehicle keys after the incident, Mounties say.
Read More: Man, 80, injured in road rage incident airlifted to hospital: RCMP
Nikki King, who is also the chief of the town’s fire department, says the victim is a longtime resident of Beiseker, and says the incident happening in a small community is “shocking.”
“People are fairly outraged. There’s a lot of disgust that this happened, and outrage,” she explained.
“Unfortunately, I think this is like a second road rage incident we’ve had within like the last six months. We had another gentleman that was beat up back in June, same sort of scenario.”
She says many people in the small community are rallying around the man while trying to make sense of it all.
“I commute into Calgary myself every day, and I’m always astonished at the way that people drive,” King said.
“You really need to be careful nowadays because you never know how things are going to escalate.”
Savinkoff says any road rage incident is simply not acceptable.
“We all have personal circumstances in which we’ve been angry on the road at other users. And I know for whatever reason when you’re driving and you’re inside a vehicle, sometimes that anger is elevated. But to get to this level is very unfortunate,” he said.
“We have to remind ourselves that we are adults, you need to take a deep breath and move on.”
The suspect, Chris Shearer of Drumheller, faces multiple charges including aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and robbery.
He remains in custody until his Feb. 1 court appearance.
Road rage incidents in Calgary
This follows two different road rage incidents in Calgary, with one leading to the death of a 35-year-old man.
David Mervin Berglund of Calgary was killed in an incident on Temple Drive in the city’s northeast on Dec. 12.
That incident, which Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld described as “shocking,” resulted in the arrest of 34-year-old Steven Allen of Calgary, who is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 6.
In addition, an incident at a Canadian Tire on Richmond Road in southwest Calgary left one person injured in a hit-and-run with the driver fleeing the scene immediately after.
