A Red Deer County woman is recovering after she was hit by a semi while protesting in Red Deer.
Kattrina Horner was attending a protest on Aug. 19 by the Red Deer chapter of the Save Movement when she was struck.
Horner and the group were protesting animals being taken for slaughter outside the Olymel meat packing plant.
Horner said she was walking in a crosswalk, during a pedestrian light, when a semi began turning on a green light.
“What happened was I started walking and the driver had figured he may have had more space than he did, that's when the truck had honked and I had turned to see what he was honking at,” said Horner. “My first instinct was to try to block the truck from hitting me. I'm really happy I did turn around because I feel if I hadn't have, I probably would've fallen on my face and gotten ran over."
The incident was caught on camera.
“I was just beside myself. In the video it sounded like he grabbed a gear and sped up. Just looking at it, I'm really happy I survived,” said Horner upon viewing the footage.
Horner added she’s not sure if the driver intended to hit her, or if it was an accident.
“I'm on the fence, to be honest. I do feel it was intentional, but I really don't believe that somebody would want to do it, or the truck driver wanted to do it. Like I said, his timing may have been off.”
Horner said she’s getting treatment for her injuries and is thankful she wasn’t hurt worse.
“I have rotator cuff damage. Muscle damage, soft tissue damage, and as my muscles become less inflamed, there's more possibility for damages that are not even discovered yet.”
Red Deer RCMP have since charged the driver with failing to yield to a pedestrian, and was given a $776 fine.
Horner said she has hired a legal team and plans to take further legal action, as she doesn’t have a vehicle to get to physiotherapy appointments.
“It's just been a headache ever since.”
CTV News has reached out to Olymel for comment on the incident.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Joey Slattery
