‘Anger won’t heal her, love will’: father of North Vancouver hit-and-run victim speaks out

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s the phone call every parent dreads getting: their child has been involved in a serious, potentially life-changing situation.

For Chris Haines, that became a reality on Monday evening when his 17-year-old daughter, Grace, was struck by a car in the area around Keith Road East and St. Andrews Avenue in North Vancouver.

Haines says Grace loves fitness, and she’d been studying so hard over the last bit, she just needed a break – so she decided to do what she loved – work out.

“Grace is a student at St. Aquinas High School, and she’s studying for exams all day, and she wanted a break late at night. It was pushing 10 o’clock, and she’s super into fitness. So she said, ‘I’m going to go for a run,’ and she does this all the time,” he tells NEWS 1130.

While Chris prefers she’d go for a run on the track, she’d decided to take the green belt in North Vancouver. About 15 minutes later, she was hit while crossing the street.

“All I know is at 10:45 p.m., I got a call from Lions Gate Hospital, and luckily I’m very close, about three blocks away, so we just rushed over right away and from the first moment we got there, everyone was amazing,” he explains.

“Grace has a Guardian Angel, and I won’t say her name, but the person who found Grace on the side of the road, you know who you are, thank you for saving my daughter’s life.”

WARNING RE: PHOTO.
I had the chance to speak w/Chris Haines of #NorthVan; his daughter Grace was involved in a hit & run Monday. She's still on a breathing tube & in a coma at #LionsGate Hospital. She's also had emergency surgery. Chris says she's a fighter who loves fitness. pic.twitter.com/KMMm6lcuLm

— Ria Renouf ???? (@riarenouf) January 29, 2021

He also says he’s been getting incredible support from North Vancouver Mounties as they continue to work on Grace’s case. He also says the community support for the family has been incredible, and he’s looking forward to the day that Grace can get back on her feet, work out, and just enjoy fitness.

“Grace is one of the most driven people I know, and obviously I’m biased as her father, but she really has been into fitness for a long time. She’s into gymnastics, she’s into circus, so think like Cirque Du Soleil circus, so physically, probably the hardest thing you can do. With her trainer, she’s gotten into Olympic lifting and powerlifting, and this little girl who is, I don’t know, maybe 120 some odd pounds, is lifting well over 200 pounds on a deadlift, squats. She and I worked out together, it’s kind of our thing, and fitness was so important,” he says.

Chris says he does all he can to be by Grace’s side. At the time of the interview he was by her bedside, telling NEWS 1130 he was about 20 feet away.

Being with Grace means so many people have been quick to jump in and offer help.

“My god, the outpouring from the community, our friends and family, people are bringing us so much food that we kind of got to the point where we were like, ‘Listen, we don’t need more food, we appreciate it, but we’re good. If you want to do something, we don’t have medical bills. We live in a great country that has universal health care. If you want to do something, we owe this hospital so much, so we’re trying to think of a way to encourage people to give back to the Lions Gate Hospital, and there’s the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation,” he explains.

He’s encouraging people to post videos or photos on social media with #liftingforgrace to spread awareness about donating to the hospital, or to any charity they’re inspired by.

“Someone from the foundation [came] in and they’ve seen a swell of donations, I think it’s like, $30,000 in the last little while. It’s great to see people supporting it,” he says.

Saying many have offered to help, Chris Haines is hoping people will just donate to the hospital. “We don’t have medical bills. We live in a country w/great medical health care.” About $30K in recent donations have ties to Grace’s case.

— Ria Renouf (@riarenouf) January 29, 2021

On Tuesday, North Vancouver Mounties said they had managed to make an arrest, but charges have not been laid in this case. Chris says he holds no ill will toward the driver.

“I have sympathy because I’m sure their life and their family’s life is going to be impacted, too, but anger won’t heal Grace, just love will, so I just want to encourage love to everyone.”

Chris says he’s not aiming to lecture, but there are some lessons that have certainly come out of what happened.

“I wasn’t the slowest driver, I wasn’t the most careful driver, what I’ve learned from this is we all maybe need to really take a good, hard look in the mirror and think about how we drive, especially in residential areas…I’m as bad as anybody, we all need to be careful. If there’s any good that come out of this, we can all be more careful, all of us,” he says.

Anyone with information about Monday night’s hit-and-run is encouraged to reach out to North Vancouver RCMP.