James Chapman says he’s still feeling a little woozy and shaken up and has a welt on his head after being hit by a raw egg thrown from a passing vehicle in Nanaimo last month.
Nanaimo RCMP are calling on whomever threw the egg and knocked the 37-year-old unconscious to “step up to take responsibility for their actions and call the police.”
The incident happened about 10:45 p.m. on Feb. 25 on Uplands Drive, near the turnoff to Edgewater Lane.
Chapman said he doesn’t remember exactly what took place. He said that he and his three friends had just left one of their homes when he was struck.
“The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, concussed,” he said. “I woke up literally in the ambulance going to the hospital.
“They put me in a neck brace because they didn’t know if I ended up doing any damage to my neck.”
He said he was bleeding from the right side of his head, and the blood was mixed with bits of shell and other egg residue.
Police said Chapman and his friends were standing at a bus stop on the west side of Uplands Drive when a small, dark-coloured vehicle drove by and the egg was thrown from a passenger window, hitting Chapman in the head and knocking him to the ground.
“We believe the person who threw the egg probably didn’t intend to cause injury and may have no idea what actually happened,” said Const. Gary O’Brien.
O’Brien said even if the egg thrower probably didn’t mean to hurt anyone, the intent was clearly to hit somebody.
“We’ve seen this before,” he said. “It’s a juvenile prank.”
Chapman said he is not angry at this point, just confused about the whole incident.
“Why would people target a guy like me?” he said. “I’m just an average Joe that goes to work every day.”
Chapman said he is hoping those responsible will own up to what they did.
“I would love to see them come forward and say: ‘We did it, we’re the guys that hit you in the head.’ ”
He said he was thankful for the man who pulled over to help right after the incident.
“He was a nurse, of all things, and drove up and checked on me.”
Call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 with any information.
