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Youth airlifted off Mount Tzouhalem after mountain biking accident

A boy was airlifted to hospital Saturday afternoon following an accident on the trails at Mount Tzouhalem.
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An air ambulance arrives to pick up a patient injured while mountain biking on Mount Tzouhalem in April of this year. (Colton Davis photo)

A boy was airlifted to hospital Saturday afternoon following an accident on the trails at Mount Tzouhalem.

“A 12-year-old went over the handlebars and landed on his head,” explained North Cowichan fire department spokesperson Martin Drakely.

Members from the Maple Bay hall were paged out to help around 2:30 p.m.

“We assisted EHS with packaging and extrication from the trail,” Drakeley said.

RCMP and ambulance were called and the BC Ambulance Service then called to bring in an air ambulance.

“We then had to secure a landing zone at Maple Bay School field,” Drakeley said, adding that firefighters assisted paramedics until the helicopter left with the patient.

A spokesperson from BC Emergency Health Services had not been able to track down information related to the case before the Citizen’s press deadline. The condition of the boy is not known at this time.

Drakeley said the accident occurred on a section of “non-sanctioned, un-maintained trails on adjacent property and was not part of our recreational trail infrastructure.”

The incident marks the second this year of a youth injured while biking on the popular mountaining biking mountain.

SEE RELATED: Student air-lifted after bike accident on Mount Tzouhalem

Back in early April, a 14-year-old Quamichan School student had been riding with the Cowichan Secondary Mountain Bike Club and went over the handlebars of their bike too.

That teen has since recovered.

This latest incident is not believed to be part of any school-related activity, according to School District 79 spokesperson Mike Russell.



sarah.simpson@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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Sarah Simpson

About the Author: Sarah Simpson

I started my time with Black Press Media as an intern, before joining the Citizen in the summer of 2004.
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