Vancouver Canucks anthem singer hit by car while crossing street

Jugpreet Bajwa is seen on the jumbotron at Rogers Arena singing before a Canucks game. (Courtesy: @JuggyJag/X)

The singer who often opens Canucks games in Vancouver with the Canadian and American anthems is recovering from injuries suffered from being struck by a car while crossing the street earlier this week.

Jugpreet Bajwa has been blind for most of his life after losing his sight to eye cancer as a baby. He says after walking the seawall on Monday, a woman named Cathy offered to help him walk to the Main Street-Science World SkyTrain station.

The pair were crossing at Quebec Street and National Avenue when a driver who was on their phone turned right, according to Bajwa.

“She noticed there was a car,” Bajwa recalled. “But by that point it was too late. The car hit us both and it knocked us both to the ground.”

He told CTV News Cathy suffered soft tissue injuries to her shoulder and hit her head, while he has a bruised elbow and sore neck.

“It was quite traumatizing; we were pretty shaken,” Bajwa said, adding that it could have been much worse and both are recovering from their injuries at home.

Bajwa said he’s overwhelmed by the support he has received from friends, family and fans.

“Just to have that love from people and stuff like that, it means a lot,” he said. “I just have to keep going and I think the support from people has really helped a lot.”

He hopes to get the message out to drivers to keep their eyes on the road.

“Don’t text while you’re driving, don’t do things where if you feel like you’re not sure, don’t make a turn or anything,” Bajwa said. “You could be hitting another person.”

He adds he’s learned a lesson to be more cautious while crossing the street, too.

“Let’s all be careful and make sure we’re not doing things that we know are preventable,” he said.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Angelina Ravelli