Lee Clarke was hauling a load of veggies to his friend in Grand Tracadie.
“Just another delivery day for me.”
He was driving a van which he bought just a few months prior. It was made for trucking ice, so it’s insulated back was perfect for his product.
The 38-year-old from Charlottetown delivers and markets local produce from P.E.I. farms to restaurants for his company, Plate It. He also co-owns Green Fork Local Food at the Founders’ Food Hall and Market in Charlottetown.
“I want to showcase the best of what those farmers, those geniuses, can do.”
On Sept. 13, 2019, he arrived at a corner along Route 6 that banks hard to the left, right beside Pleasant Grove Road and headed towards Corran Ban.
“I’ve probably taken that corner, I’d say, 300 times this year,” he said. “It was quite a turn.”
He had a 26-year no-accident record, he said.
There were no other cars, but as he turned the corner, some loose gravel caused his front tire to slip off the shoulder. It was notably lower than the road, so when he brought the tire back on it got about an inch of air, he said.
“That was enough to put the back of the van in a skid.”
The van veered off the left side of the road and rolled until being stopped by a tree.
His airbag hadn’t deployed, and he somehow slipped out of his seatbelt into the passenger side. He was conscious and feared the van might catch fire, but he couldn’t move.
“I’ve never been knocked like that,” he said. “I (had) to get up.”
“I’m unbelievably lucky. I just can’t wait to get back into where I belong.”
Clarke is a do-it-yourself kind of guy. Sometimes he contracts delivery drivers, but he likes to do the job himself because he believes in what he does. He also sets a high standard for himself.
So when he told himself he had to get up, he had an adrenaline rush and got up.
“It’s like I turned into a werewolf or something.”
The friend he was meeting, Jordan MacPhee, and another man rushed to the scene to see Clarke climb out the window, walk five feet and lay down to stare at the sky. The man knew basic first-aid and kept Clarke from further straining himself.
“I would love to know who this person is and thank them.”
An ambulance was there in about 15 minutes. Clarke had a broken shoulder, 11 separate rib fractures and a compacted T12 vertebrae.
The Guardian spoke with him one week after as he was recovering at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown.
Healing and physiotherapy are going smoothly, and he’s wearing a fitted brace to protect his spine. While he has to consider the potential long-term consequences, he’s in good spirits.
“I got a long road ahead.”
The van’s a-frame was damaged beyond repair. MacPhee started a fundraiser on GoFundMe.com to get Clarke a new one to help with deliveries until then, which haven’t been interrupted yet.
“Except for (last) Friday when I decided to mix the vegetables in the back of the van,” Clarke laughed.
It’s been a humbling experience, and now he’s just checking the boxes so he can get back to doing what he loves. Whether it be promoting a farmers’ craft to an Island chef or helping a young farmer start their farm, he wants to share their stories first-hand.
“I’m unbelievably lucky,” he said. “I just can’t wait to get back into where I belong.”
