Northbound traffic on Bowen Road between Meredith and Northfield roads was re-routed for more than 30 minutes as emergency crews tried to revive a man who collapsed and fell into the traffic lane Wednesday.
The incident happened shortly before 3 p.m. while the man was walking southbound on the sidewalk near the Fern Road intersection.
“Apparently, from witnesses’ statements, he kind of staggered and fell,” said Martin Drakeley, Nanaimo Fire Rescue assistant chief of operations.
The man struck his head on the sidewalk and rolled into the Bowen Road northbound slow lane.
“Our guys were on company inspections and they were flagged over and they assessed him,” Drakeley said. “He was in cardiac arrest at that time.”
Firefighters performed CPR on the victim until an ambulance arrived and he was taken to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
Nanaimo RCMP confirmed the man was pronounced dead at NRGH.
The victim, who has not been officially identified, was 91.