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Cyclist injured on Mount Tzouhalem

Young mountain biker airlifted from nearby schoolyard
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Neighbourhood kids watch as an injured mountain biker is loaded into a medevac helicopter on the Maple Bay Elementary School field on Easter Monday. (Kevin Rothbauer/Citizen)

An Easter Monday bike ride turned into a helicopter ride for a young cyclist.

Maple Bay volunteer firefighters were called to Resurrection Trail on Mount Tzouhalem late Monday morning after a mountain biker crashed, and were soon summoning a medevac helicopter to the scene. Firefighters got the cyclist off the trail and into a ground ambulance, which took him to the school yard at Maple Bay Elementary, where the helicopter took him to hospital in Victoria.

Devan Demarchi, 14, said he was riding with his 13-year-0ld best friend when he crashed and appeared to have broken his collarbone. Demarchi said he was the one who called for assistance.

Demarchi reported that his friend lost consciousness briefly and he made sure to support the friend’s neck with his jacket while they waited for emergency responders.

“You’ve got to take any safety precautions you can,” he said.

The victim is a “tough kid,” who has been through bad crashes before, Demarchi noted.

Demarchi and his friend both came up from Victoria to spend the holiday riding on the popular mountain.

“Mount Tzouhalem has the gnarliest trails,” he said.