The father of a North Vancouver boy who suffered a potentially blinding eye injury after being egged on the street is urging pranksters to consider the consequences of their actions.
Marcus van Bylandt's 13-year-old son, Matthys, was walking home along Highland Boulevard Monday evening when a black SUV-type vehicle pulled up and someone hit him in the face with an egg.
When the teenager arrived home shortly after, his cheek was covered in blood.
"The egg had hit him directly in the socket," an emotional van Bylandt said at an RCMP news conference Friday. "So the blood was coming from inside the eye, and there's eggshell all through the eye… the white of the eye was actually cut open."
The worried father rushed his son to Lions Gate Hospital, but because of the severity of the injury they were directed to Vancouver General Hospital instead. Eventually they ended up with a specialist at BC Children's Hospital.
Doctors told them it was possible Matthys might lose his vision, particularly if he did anything to increase blood flow to his head; van Bylandt said they were warned if Matthys ran anywhere, or even vomited, the pressure could be enough to inflame his injury and even blind him in that eye.
In the five days since the injury, the family has seen six different specialists. There's a good chance Matthys will keep his vision, van Byldant said, but he won't be able to participate in sports or anything other physical activity when he starts high school next month.
The boy's father, who is a teacher at a high school in Burnaby, said he decided to speak out in the hope that other youths will think twice before putting someone in harm's way.
"I'm aware of the nature of high school students," van Bylandt said. "I want kids to understand and hopefully be reflecting a lot more on what the potential [danger] is."
Pranks, regardless of the pranksters’ intentions, can have serious legal consequences as well; RCMP Cpl. Richard De Jong said investigators are considering charges of assault causing bodily harm for whoever is responsible for Matthys's injury.
One person of interest has already been identified in the case. The 18-year-old was located on Thursday driving an SUV-type vehicle that belongs to a family member.
Monday’s egging was just one in a string of eggings that have been reported in the city this month, De Jong said. Eggs were thrown at a vehicle near Canyon Heights Elementary School on Aug. 10, and at a home in the same area on Aug. 20.
"We have three or four incidences, and are they all connected? We believe they probably are," De Jong said.
On Aug. 24, the day police alerted the public about Matthys's injury, another youth was pelted with eggs near Sutherland Secondary School, though he wasn't actually struck.
"He didn't get hit with eggs, per se, but eggs were flying around him," De Jong said.
Anyone with information on the eggings is asked to call the North Vancouver RCMP detachment at 604-985-1311, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
