Nicholas Burtch denied he hit a 14-year-old with his pickup, shooting the boy more than 14 meters into a Norfolk farmer’s field on Fairground Road in Cultus.
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When he was pressed by police in the face of clear evidence, the 36-year-old Langton man insisted it was a deer he had clipped before finally telling an officer he didn’t mean to hit the teen, who later died in hospital and who can’t be named, according to the court.
In court last month, Burtch first refused an opportunity to apologize to the boy’s family when he was asked to speak about what happened on Dec. 6, 2023.
“Nope,” he said in response to Justice Robert Gee’s invitation to speak to the packed courtroom.
“That’s unfortunate,” said the judge. “I can’t force you to say anything but I’m sure the families would have liked to hear a little bit of remorse from you.”
That’s when Burtch’s composition left him.
Gasping and crying, Burtch told the family he wouldn’t want such a thing to happen to anyone else.
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“I have two children of my own. I am deeply, deeply, deeply sorry for what I’ve done. I’m so sorry guys.”
Burtch was sentenced to 18 months in jail, but because he had been in custody since his arrest, earning the required pre-sentence credit, he was left with just 51 days to serve after his sentence.
Burtch had no previous criminal record but the court was told he had five speeding fines on his driving record.
Gee said he wasn’t sentencing Burtch for hitting the teen, who had been walking along a dark road with a buddy, just before 5:30 pm, but for his actions after the collision.
He didn’t stop, leaving the other teen to scream for help from a property owner who called 911.
Burtch went home and hid the pickup, wiped it down, removed damaged parts of the GMC Sierra, covered it with a tarp and told family he had hit a deer.
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As the news of the boy’s death reverberated in the community and police and media reports increased, Burtch made plans to leave the area. A neighbor first agreed to drive him to his mother-in-law’s home in Havelock, Ontario but then dropped him back off in Tillsonburg.
“If you had panicked and left but came back, people could understand it better,” the judge told Burtch.
“This wasn’t a momentary lapse in judgment. You told false stories and tried to flee the area when you felt the noose tightening.”
Then it was like a “tooth-pulling exercise” to get Burtch to admit his guilt.
Gee said Burtch’s punishment – he’s been in jail since his arrest on Dec. 11, 2023 – was to remind both him and the public that everyone involved in a collision is required by law to stop and offer help.
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“And, if you’re a person involved in harming someone, common human decency says stop and help them. It’s not a particularly difficult burden.”
The teen’s mother, father, grandparents and other family and friends spoke at the sentencing hearing about the tragic loss of the deeply-loved young man, who was days from his 15th birthday and passionate about “anything with a motor and wheels”, according to his grandfather.
Struggling to speak, the teen’s father said he’s angry, struggling with his relationships and fearful every time his daughter leaves the house.
“(Burtch) intentionally left my son to die,” said the boy’s mother. “He turned himself in only when there were no places left to run.”
She added that, since her son’s accident, the family has heard “so many stories” about similar collisions in the area.
Burtch’s sentence – presented by the lawyers as a joint submission – was low, according to the judge.
“If the Crown had asked for more time I would have given more,” Gee said, suggesting the punishment should have been two to two-and-a-half years.
“So, this is very generous. Don’t waste your chance,” Gee told Burtch.
“Don’t waste it. Be a better person.”
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