District of Kent Mayor John Van Laerhoven was airlifted to Royal Columbian Hospital Friday afternoon following a motorcycle crash just outside Agassiz. He was travelling along Highway 9 near the Agassiz-Rosedale Bridge when the incident occurred around 12 p.m. The bridge was closed for almost three hours while paramedics and RCMP attended the scene.
The mayor is stable, with no broken bones and is undergoing a speedy recovery. He was released from the hospital Monday afternoon and has been asked to rest at home.
In his absence, Councillor Darcy Striker will be acting as Deputy Mayor.
Residents who want to send well wishes to Mayor Van Laerhoven may forward them to Executive Assistant Karin Ponciano at kponciano@district.kent.bc.ca.
Van Laerhoven was re-elected for his second term as mayor in the November, 2014 municipal election. He served a term previous to that as a Councillor. He has lived in Agassiz since 1959, was a teacher in Agassiz for 18 years and Chilliwack for another 16. He is married with three children. He is chair of the Fraser Valley Regional Library Board, represents the District of Kent at the FVRD and sits on the Fraser Valley Regional Hospital District.
Watch agassizharrisonobserver.com for more updates as they become available.
