Family in shock after alleged driver in hit and run opts to take chances in court

A makeshift memorial at the scene of where a 14 year old was struck in a hit and run in the hamlet of Cultus, December 2023 (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London)

Anger and disappointment as the family of a 14 year old hit and run victim spilled out of the Simcoe Courthouse Wednesday. An expected guilty plea turned into a change of heart for the accused. It means the case against 35-year-old Nicholas Burtch of Norfolk County will now go to trial.

“I’m angry, angry, very angry,” said the victim’s mother, the boy’s father at her side.

Due to a publication ban on the victim’s name, along with that of a young witness, CTV News is not able to identify family members.

OPP reported that on December 6, 2023 a 14-year-old pedestrian was struck by a vehicle while walking with a friend on Fairgrounds Road in the Hamlet of Cultus, in Norfolk County. The driver fled the scene. Thirty-five year old Nicholas Burtch was arrested and charged after OPP executed a search warrant at a Langton residence days later, locating the suspect vehicle. The 14-year-old later died of their injuries.

The victim’s parents said they had been informed by the Crown attorney that Burtch would be entering a guilty plea.

The parents of hit and run victim speak to CTV News Wednesday, their faces blurred so they can’t be identified (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)

After several delays throughout the day, word came from the court that the accused has opted to go to trial.

“It shouldn’t be like this,” exclaimed the victim’s mother. “We shouldn’t have to come to court in expectancy of him to do something. I understand that people can plead guilty or not guilty, but he already chose to plead guilty. He shouldn’t be able to change his mind at the very last second,” she said.

 “Now we have to live through the details being dragged through a trial system,” added the victim’s father. “Having the other young witness, you know, have to relive that day over and over again,” he explained.

Burtch has been remanded until his next court appearance, August 27, when it’s expected a date for trial will be set.

The road to justice is now that much longer, the family hoping to find closure, will now have to wait to put a terrible tragedy behind them.

“He was a rebellious teen, but he was a good kid,” said the grieving mother. “He definitely didn’t deserve the sentence that he was given. And our family and friends don’t deserve the sentence that we’ve been given either,” she said.