A North Vancouver man and his family say no one has ever been held accountable for a brutal beating that left him with close to $15,000 in dental bills.
Steven Andrew, now 28, was heading home one night in October of 2010, sitting at the back of a packed and rowdy Lynn Valley bus.
It was about 1 a.m., Andrews recalled. I hadnt been drinking, but everyone else was pretty intoxicated. There were these four guys trying to start fights with anyone they could see. They started hitting this one young guy, smacking him on the side of the head. He wasnt really fighting back, he was just staying Why are you doing this?
Andrews was one of several passengers encouraging the apparent ringleader to leave the teenager alone.
All I said was Hey, theyre calling the cops, youd better go, Andrews said. I was trying to neutralize the situation. That was enough for him to turn on me and he hit me a few times and then his buddies joined in and there were four of them on top of me.
As the gang kicked and punched him, Andrews was cut and bruised and had two teeth knocked out. The driver was unaware of what was happening, and no one else on the bus intervened. His assailants got off at the next stop.
I had to walk up to the bus driver with my teeth in my hands and dripping blood and ask him to call the cops, Andrews said.
North Vancouver RCMP officers arrested a 22-year-old man in Lower Lonsdale later that night, and Andrews formally identified the man based on a photograph lineup the next day. Although he maintains he picked the right man, Andrews says police told him other witnesses identified different people, so the Crown wasnt willing to go forward with a prosecution.
In the meantime, Andrews was left trying to repair his smashed teeth. The cost of the post and replacement work which is still not complete quickly ran into the thousands. He even made a trip to Mexico to try and find less expensive dentistry.
Andrews and his father Keith would like to sue, but say they havent been able to track his assailant further than his Facebook profile. Theyve considered hiring a private investigator.
Weve tried a number of avenues like victim services and the police, to no avail. The system has proven very difficult to work with, Keith Andrews said.
By the end of all the gymnastics, were probably going to be out about $15,000. Once youre talking about major dental work, it doesnt take long to run up a bill. Its been a tremendous financial and physical burden. The system has just been inadequate.
There have been lingering emotional consequences for the Andrews as well.
When you experience a severe trauma like that, it upsets your sense of well being and your sense of confidence. Steven thinks twice about getting on a bus at night now, and hes a very big advocate of public transit. As a parent, the effect is a tremendous sense of helplessness, and almost a twinge of guilt about what I could have done to prevent that.
