The man charged in connection with the hit-and-run death of a Riverside secondary student 18 months ago will plead guilty later this week.
Annie Leung, a 16-year-old Port Coquitlam resident, was crossing at Mary Hill Road and Pitt River Road when she was struck on Sept. 10, 2013, later succumbing to her injuries. She was the only child of Maggie and Ricky Leung.
At the time, witnesses described a black Ford F150 being driven by an older man with greying hair; a few days later, Coquitlam RCMP released video surveillance that showed a black truck pulling over to the side of the road and a man getting out and walking towards the intersection. He was seen less than a minute later returning to his truck and driving away.
A month later, Leung's parents made an emotional plea to the driver and anyone else with information to come forward.
"You are somebody's father, son or husband," Maggie Leung said at the time. "We understand it's an accident and nobody wanted it to happen. We can forgive you and we believe our daughter would forgive you as well. We want to hear from you. We need to hear from you."
They also thanked a young man who called 911 and held their daughter until emergency crews arrived.
In July 2014, Coquitlam RCMP announced that, after a lengthy investigation involving the traffic and major crimes sections, a charge of failing to stop at the scene of an accident causing bodily harm been approved against Irwin Richard Franz, a 73-year-old Port Coquitlam man.
In an interview with CTV at that time, Franz said the accident wasn't his fault but he'd panicked and left the scene. He later hired a lawyer and has been co-operating with police.
His next court appearance is tomorrow (March 5) to enter a guilty plea.
@spayneTC
