A 28-year-old man lay on his back with blood on his face by the right-hand side of northbound QEII just past the Fas Gas near Bowden at about 7 p.m. on Sept. 20.
The Rocky Mountain House resident had stopped his Dodge 4x4 truck to handle an incident of road rage when the situation quickly escalated to a fight involving multiple men, police said.
“He pulled over and dealt with it on his own which caused an altercation on the highway,” said Peter Van Muyen, a sheriff with the Innisfail Integrated Traffic Unit, noting he's never seen a road rage incident of this severity before.
The witness who called 911 said the men who assaulted the victim were all wearing shorts.
“Three guys beat him up and punched him out,” he said, declining to give his name.
Another witness said he saw a four-door Nissan Maxima speed off. Police are also looking for a black Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck seen leaving the scene.
As witness Darcy Jones drove along the highway he spotted a parked car, so he took a closer look. That's when he noticed the victim “KO'd” on the shoulder.
“I seen buddy parked along the side of the road,” Jones said, referring to the witness who called 911. “So I pulled over.”
The Hinton resident immediately reached for the first aid kit he always keeps on hand in case of such an emergency. Bystanders were able to quickly start administering first aid under the setting sun as semi trucks roared by.
Within minutes Innisfail Integrated Traffic officers arrived on the scene, blocking off one lane of the highway and putting the pieces of the crime scene puzzle together.
“It was a confrontation and it ended very badly for this guy,” said Const. Stephen Molnar, an investigator with the Innisfail Integrated Traffic Services unit. “At least three or four people were engaged in a fight, plus the victim.”
A variety of emergency personnel attended the scene, including Bowden firefighters and EMS workers.
Van Muyen urges the public never to get out of their vehicle if they face a similar scenario involving road rage on the highway, advising the best thing to do is to call 911 so the police can tackle the situation.
“There were so many people involved that it is dangerous to the general public that are driving on the highway,” he said. “They're not sure what's going on.”
The man was taken to hospital for treatment of non-critical injuries before being released.
Police recovered opened boxes of Bud Light and Mike's Hard Lemonade from the victim's truck and his licence was suspended for three days as a result of new legislation. He received two charges under the Gaming and Liquor Act.
Police are seeking tips from the public that may help track down the brawlers.
“The suspects in the vehicle are still at large,” Van Muyen said. “We had other members look further but we didn't find them.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Innisfail Integrated Traffic Unit at 403-343-4135 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
