A local man is being sued after an alleged hit an run.
A Strathroy man who’s been identified as Johannes (Iwan) Smolders was killed on Thanksgiving of 2021 when he was cycling on Calvert Drive southwest of Strathroy.
51 year old Fredick Earhart from Dashwood has been arrested and charged in connection.
Now the family of the deceased has issued a $5.25 million dollar lawsuit against the accused.
Earhart is scheduled to appear in a London court at the end of May and he has not entered a plea in the case.
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The claim says “Smolders, 45, was cycling west on Calvert Drive, southwest of Strathroy, around 9 p.m. when a vehicle travelling in the same direction “suddenly and without warning . . . violently struck him.”
The lawsuit goes on alleging that “Iwan was catapulted off of his bicycle and sustained fatal injuries. Fredrick Earhart fled the scene after hitting Iwan.”
The 10-page suit goes on to detail that there has been emotional suffering from the death experienced by Smolders’ family, and the suit also includes the insurance company for Smolders being Strathroy’s HT&C Mutual Insurance Company who are listed as a defendant, with the claim alleging that his policy included conditions that covered underinsured, uninsured, and unidentified motorists.
