A local barber is asking for help to keep his shop alive after he broke his wrist in a motorcycle accident on Wednesday.
The accident left head barber, Dan Stewart unable to work for six weeks.
Stewart is the owner of Man Made Barber & Supply on Pandosy Street in Kelowna.
He was riding to work on Wednesday when a car cut through his lane of traffic. He tried to stop in time but ended up somersaulting over the vehicle.
"I knew that I was going to hit it even though I was already pulling on the brakes. It all happened very fast," said Stewart.
He now walks slowly and with a limp, as his hip was the first point of contact to hit the pavement.
"And then as I was flying, somersaulting through the air, I remember thinking, 'This is going to hurt when I hit the ground.'"
Stewart was leaving the GoodLife Fitness gym at the Capris Centre.
He had just turned left from Sutherland onto Gordon and switched into the left lane to get ready to turn left onto Harvey.
But the left lane was blocked with stopped traffic, at the intersection that leads to the entrance of the Capris Centre Mall, so he switched into the right lane.
"As I came past two cars that were parked and a truck that was blocking the intersection another vehicle, a Toyota Corolla, decided to turn left into the Capris Centre parking lot across my lane of traffic as I was moving forward," said Stewart.
Stewart says he immediately reached for his brakes but it was too late.
"I hit the side of the vehicle, the passenger front door, T-boned the car and my bike bounced off. I flipped over the roof of the car onto the pavement on the other side."
Stewart says he went back to the scene and saw the skid marks where he had braked to avoid the car cross his lane.
The police officer at the scene ticketed the driver of the Toyota Corolla for failing to yield on a left-hand turn.
His left wrist is broken and has been casted.
The doctors are saying it will be at least six weeks before the cast is off.
After that, Stewart can work on getting his range of motion back.
For now, he's trying to keep his business open. Stewart opened Man Made Barber & Supply a year ago on May 2nd.
"My wrist is my money maker," said Stewart. "I can't work without it. I'm a barber, so without my hands and my arms, I'm a pretty useless barber."
Stewart currently has an apprentice working with him. He's able to cut, but Stewart needs to be present. Right now he's asking for help from guest barbers in order to keep his shop alive.
"If I can get enough people, it will keep the business running."
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