A former Richmond man has died after he was struck by a van while he tried to fix the chain on his bike.
Robert MacInnes, 35, now of Tofino, had been biking home from a party around 2: 45 a.m. Sunday when his chain came off as he was crossing the Pacific Rim Highway.
He had stopped to fix the chain when he was struck by the van.
Alcohol and speed are not believed to be factors in the crash, said Tofino RCMP spokeswoman Const. Sascha Banks.
"We're doing OK, but of course it's hard," said MacInnes' older brother, Al, in Richmond.
The crew at Tofino's Tough City Sushi Bar, where MacInnes worked, is mourning the loss of their "number one employee," nicknamed "Sushi Bar Rob."
"He never gave us any trouble," said Ron Gould, the restaurant's owner.
"He treated the business like it was his. When someone was sick or when somebody quit, he didn't care how many days in a row he worked."
When he wasn't busy working, the talented banjo player, guitarist and singer "played music and drank beer," said Gould, who had gone to a few parties with MacInnes last week.
"He was the greatest guy in the world."
MacInnes worked as a chef in the back kitchen at Tough City for six years, after stints at other restaurants in Tofino.
