Guilty plea in deadly hit and run involving cyclist

Johannes Francis Smolders was described in court as a man who loved his family and his community.

However, on Oct. 11, 2021, his life tragically came to an end when he was struck and killed while out on a bike ride west of London.

When Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers arrived, they found his helmet and bike in one spot along Calvert Drive just outside of Strathroy and his body was located in a ditch.

The court heard the driver of the Dodge Dakota, which struck Smolders and took off, was Fredrick Earhart, 53 of Brooke-Alvinston. After months of legal wrangling, Earhart pleaded guilty to hit and run.

Eleven victim impact statements were submitted into court during the proceedings with the most emotional coming from the wife of the 45-year-old Smolders.

Sonia Freiter told the court how the crash has traumatized her two children, "My son not only lost his father but his role model and his best friend."

When referring to her daughter, she said, "She cried nightly in her room yelling out to her dad."

She said her children are not alone, saying after going out to the crash site looking for her husband, “I now suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).”

After the crash, OPP put out a plea for the driver to turn himself in. Earhart was eventually arrested three months later which angered the family and friends in the courtroom.

Upset that the accused didn’t go to police after the crash, a tearful Freiter said it was frightening knowing, "There was someone out there who would cause the death of someone and just drive away...this outcome did not have to happen if Mr. Earhart had come forward."

In an agreed statement of facts, the court heard how Earhart’s vehicle had Smolders DNA on it and that he hid it in a shed shortly after the crash. He then went out and purchased a Volkswagen.

In a joint sentencing submission, both the Crown and the defence are asking that Earhart receive a two year conditional sentence with one year house arrest along with a one year driving prohibition.

Justice Spencer Nicholson is expected to hand down his decision on the case on Nov. 14.