The journey of grief is just beginning for the family of Colin “Dougie” MacAdam. The devoted husband and father was cycling outside his home in Truro, N.S., on the morning of July 7 when he was involved in a collision. “His femur was broken in his left leg. And we knew that he needed to have surgery,” says his daughter Michelle MacAdam. “Twelve days from the date of the accident, he was released from hospital. We were able to get some mobility devices to help him in his recovery.” MacAdam was seemingly on the road to recovery until things took a turn weeks later. His family says he suffered medical complications and ultimately died on Aug. 26. “He fought really hard that day, but unfortunately altogether it was too much,” says Michelle. “It has been a remarkably sudden loss. My father was such a healthy person. You wouldn’t look at him and think he was an 83-year-old. “The paramedics thought he was probably 20 years younger than that. The doctor that operated on him said he had the bones of a 17-year-old.” His wife Andrea MacAdam says she is still coming to terms with his passing. “We were married for 56 years. He wasn’t just my husband. He was my friend,” she says. “I still don’t kind of believe it.” Truro Police Service were unavailable for an on-camera interview, but say they recently obtained video footage of the collision that has helped their investigation. “Investigators have been working on this matter since the date of the collision and have continued to pursue all available investigative avenues,” Chief David MacNeil told CTV Atlantic Wednesday. Police would not call the incident a hit and run, but believe a white, four-door pickup truck was the vehicle involved. “It was very hard for my dad to process, during those weeks before he passed, knowing that someone could do something like this and just drive away without even stopping to check if they were OK,” says Michelle. She hopes the person in the vehicle comes forward and the investigation reveals the truth about what happened. “It was a senseless tragedy. It need not have happened. It is horrific to have to go through this and I really hope that we can all be much more cognizant and aware when we’re driving. Especially when cyclists or pedestrians are around,” she says. “It’s so important that we give cyclists room, we share the road, we’re aware of where cyclists are, and ensuring that nothing we’re doing is potentially going to take them from a family like my father has been so tragically taken from us.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
