Fighting back tears, a mother condemned the actions of the man who hit and killed her son, telling the court during her victim impact statement, “He intentionally left my son to die, fleeing the scene and showing no remorse for his actions. He turned himself in only when there were no places left to run.” The 14-year-old boy, whose identity has been protected by the courts, was struck by a pick-up truck driven by 36-year-old Langton native Nicholas Burtch.
The collision happened on the afternoon of December 6 along Fairground Road near the hamlet of Cultus. The teen, who was walking with a friend, was tossed into a farmer's field and died shortly after in hospital. Burtch never stopped.
On Wednesday morning Burtch entered a guilty plea at the Simcoe Courthouse in Norfolk County to a charge related to failing to stop at the scene of a collision causing death. The teen's mother told the court, “My life will never be the same, and I have been sentenced to live a life without my son.” Soon after leaving the scene Burtch would be heard telling friends and family that he damaged his truck after hitting a deer, but also told them he had heard about the boy being hit.
His wife tried to get a friend to drive him to her mother's house in Havelock, east of Peterborough - a 330-kilometre drive. The friend considered the request but ultimately declined. Following tips from people in the area, the OPP learned Burtch’s truck was parked behind a trailer, under a small Quonset hut, .
