The senior who killed Port Coquitlam teenager Annie Leung in a hit-and-run three years ago has been sentenced to four months in jail.
Irwin Franz, 75, was also handed a one-year driving prohibition for the Sept. 10, 2013 crash in a trial that heard about the lies he told police, and his eventual, tearful apology to Leung’s family.
“He offered parents a sincere apology, spoken from the heart,” said Port Coquitlam provincial court Judge Pedro DeCouto. “The depth and sincerity were there for all to see. No doubt if he had the ability he would have turned back that moment in time.”
Leung, 16, was struck and killed at Mary Hill Road and Pitt River Road while walking home from school.
Franz told a police officer he was at Costco when the crash happened, and that he only knew about the incident from what he saw on the news.
That prompted a further torment for Leung’s family: a public appeal for help. A video presented by the RCMP showed a black truck belonging to Franz pulling over and its driver checking it for any damage.
When he was charged in 2014, Franz claimed to CTV News that he came forward right away.
“I was there the next day. I told my lawyer to go to the RCMP,” he told CTV News at the time, saying he planned to plead not guilty.
But the judge found it took Franz 42 days to come forward.
“I know for a fact it wasn’t my fault,” he claimed in 2014.
The judge found Franz suffered from post-traumatic stress and checked into a psych ward at Royal Columbian Hospital.
There still a question about who is legally at fault for the crash. Franz was charged with failing to remain at the scene of an accident, rather than an offense involving the death of Leung, which could have a more serious punishment.
Franz pleaded pleaded guilty last year, and earlier this month apologized to Leung’s family in court, telling them he panicked after striking the 16-year-old Riverside Secondary School student.
Prosecutors asked for a sentence of four-six months behind bars, while Franz’s defence requested a fine with intermittent jail time.
Leung’s family is hoping to move on, said the family’s pastor, Paul Chiu.
“The family is devastated but they have peace in their heart. They accept the final verdict and they are not seeking any revenge. They felt that justice has been done and served,” Chiu said.
