Shortly after Rick Hansen survived a vehicle accident that left him paralyzed, the then 15-year-old decided he wouldn’t let his disability hold him back.
Fast forward 50 years, Hansen is a household name across Canada and the world for championing accessibility rights and competing on the world stage.
But learning to live with his physical disability was not always easy, Hansen told CTV National News’ Sandie Rinaldo.
“When you’re in a situation like that, you’re overwhelmed, you’re in shock, you’re in disbelief, and you have this big, dark canvas of despair,” Hansen said. “The first thing that you need in those early days is some level of…’It’s got to get better.'”
This year, Hansen marked the 50-year anniversary of the life-altering accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
At 15 years old, Hansen and his friend Don Alder hitched a ride in the back of a truck after a fishing trip on June 27, 1973. The pair were headed back home to Williams Lake, B.C. when the truck swerved around a corner, and they were thrown from the vehicle.
“We weren’t going all that fast, and then literally we started just fishtailing,” Hansen said.
Alder was able to jump from the truck bed before Hansen became trapped inside as it rolled into the ditch.
In this undated photo, a young Rick Hansen playing ping pong in a wheelchair.
“I must have lost consciousness for a minute or two and then I woke up and I thought, Oh, I’m alive… I was just thinking for sure that this would be the end,” Hansen said.
When he came to, he was sitting against a toolbox on the side of the road and realized his legs weren’t working.
“I was pretty angry at the driver…I couldn’t believe that he had done that,” Hansen said. “I was just struggling…Deep down inside it was this sense of ‘I’m in trouble…real trouble.'”
Despite the hardships he would endure — four months in the hospital and three months in rehabilitation — Hansen decided to change his mindset.
“I started to think, ‘There’s got to be something that I can focus on.’ And it was rubber bands. (I) tied them to the side of the bed and started working my arms,” he said.
Hansen wanted to sit upright before his 16th birthday in August, a goal he achieved and which gave him the motivation to keep going.
“When I first came back after my accident to Williams Lake, I started learning about what life was possible,” Hansen said.
After encouragement from his volleyball coach, he started playing accessible sports, launching his athletic career.
Between 1979 and 1985, Hansen won 19 wheelchair marathons, three world titles and 15 medals — six at the Paralympic Games and nine at the Parapan American Games.
And through it all, he never lost focus on how he could uplift others who are disabled and raise money for spinal injury research.
“Success in life isn’t about whether I can walk around and use my legs,” Hansen said. “It’s about my heart. It’s about passion.”
To hear Rick Hansen’s full story, watch a special episode of CTV’s W5 on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. EST.
Rick Hansen speaks to a young boy on his tour across the world to raise awareness for people with disabilities.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
