Kelowna beach attack victim left with brain injury, semi-paralyzed – Okanagan

A Kelowna, B.C., man is in hospital after a violent attack left him with a brain injury and partial paralysis.

Ryan Yarush remains in care, barely able to speak, more than a month after the incident. Police say the June 13 assault followed a verbal altercation at Mushroom Beach, which turned physical.

Witnesses reported Yarush was beaten unconscious in a brutal encounter that, according to his loved ones, left him convulsing and bleeding from the ear.

“We weren’t sure if he was even going to make it,” said Jackie Wasyluk, the mother of Yarush’s 15-year-old son.

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She describes Yarush as “semi-conscious,” able to say only a few words like “yes” or “no,” and speaking with a slur due to paralysis on the left side of his body.

“(The suspect) kept beating Ryan while he was unconscious. It’s brutal,” she said.

Wasyluk believes the assault was unprovoked and claims the person responsible was a youth — though police have not yet confirmed that detail.

The attack has had an impact on Yarush’s son, according to the boy’s mother.

“He’s upset and confused,” Wasyluk said. “It’s hard for him to understand all of this — his dad’s condition. It’s traumatizing.”

RCMP say the investigation is ongoing. A disclosure package is being prepared for BC Prosecution Services, but no arrests or further details have been made public at this time.

“Justice will go through the courts,” said Wasyluk. “But these days, it just seems like there isn’t a lot of justice for victims when it comes to violent crimes — people seem to be released pretty quickly.”

A GoFundMe has been launched to help cover expenses as Yarush begins what is expected to be a long and uncertain recovery.

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