Police Officer Left to Die On Street After Hit By Snowplow
Toronto police officer, Sgt. Ryan Russell, 35, was left to die on the cold street after he was hit by a snowplow by Richard Kachkar, 46.
In the trial on Wednesday, Kachkar pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and dangerous driving.
Witnesses said that the plow “knocked Russell over and spun his body toward the centre of the plow and its blade struck him in the head fracturing his skull.”
Witnesses called 911 and Andrews and her partner arrived first, racing over to a man lying face down on the ground, she said.
“I dropped to the ground and I tried to roll the body over,” she said through tears. “I ended up rolling him on top of me and it was at that time I realized it was a police officer.”
There was blood everywhere, she said.
“I put my right hand underneath his head and I could feel a hole in the back of his head,” Andrews testified. “There was a lot of blood pouring out into my hand.”
Russell wasn’t conscious, but Andrews put her cheek just above his face and she could feel a slight warm air, she said.
“I took his left hand and I held it and I could feel his wedding ring and I just kept talking to him telling him that he had to fight and to hold on, help was coming,” Andrews testified, as Russell’s widow and other family members dabbed at their eyes in court.
“I kept asking for help on the radio and another officer finally came…He helped me loosen up his vest and I put my hand under his vest to see if I could fee his heart beating. He was warm, but I couldn’t feel his heart beating.”
She could no longer feel any breath on her cheek, she said. Russell was later pronounced dead in hospital.
According to reports, Kachkar stole the plow from landscapers who stopped for coffee around 5 a.m. on Jan. 12, 2011, then drove around Toronto for two hours, hitting several cars.
The trial, which began Monday, is expected to last two months.