Mother of Tristan Roby hopes he'll live to see man sentenced in hit-and-run that almost killed him
CBC
Nearly five years after Tristan Roby was almost killed in a hit-and-run crash, his mother says sentencing delays for the man convicted in the case have her worried her son may not see justice in his lifetime.
Sentencing for Jesse Bleck was scheduled to resume on Friday at the London courthouse with submissions from the defence, however the matter was pushed back more than a month after Bleck's lawyer, Brian Eberdt, was unable to attend after falling ill.
"I am anxious to get this to a new date for as soon as possible as we're quickly approaching the one-year anniversary of when this trial started," Justice Kelly Tranquilli said during a brief hearing Friday, before adjourning the proceedings to May 28.
Bleck was convicted in August of failing to remain at the scene of an accident causing bodily harm, and driving while prohibited in the July 21, 2019 collision, which left Tristan with life-altering injuries, including traumatic brain damage.
"We're all pretty upset about it. Obviously, having lived through this entire court experience, it just seems like another delay strategy," said Abby Roby, Tristan's mother, on Friday.
"I just want it to be over because what I've been dealing within the last couple weeks is getting palliative care set-up, planning funerals. I just wanted this part to be done, because he's done. He's running out of energy for this," she said.
"He's just holding on. I swear. He's just holding on for this trial to be over."
Roby, then 17 years old, had been riding his bike with friend Jack Helsdon along Exeter Road when he was struck by a silver Nissan Altima driven by Bleck, who then fled the scene along with two others in the vehicle.
The impact of the crash threw Roby more than 10 metres, and left him with injuries including a shearing of the brain, a broken jaw, collapsed lung, and a compound left leg fracture, according to Abby. The injuries left Roby in a wheelchair, and have led to seizures and a "Parkinson-like" disorder.
Bleck was arrested and charged six months after the crash, and was found guilty in August by a jury who rejected the defence argument that he wasn't the one driving.
During a sentencing hearing in February, Roby's victim impact statement, read aloud by Abby, described how Bleck's actions had robbed him of the simple, peaceful life he had wished for.
"I understand that I have a short life ahead of me."
During the hearing, assistant Crown attorney Artem Orlov described Bleck as someone who could not be rehabilitated or exhibit responsibility, singling out his criminal record, which included driving while prohibited convictions while on release for the hit-and-run.
With closure further out of reach, Abby said her focus now was spending time with Roby and ticking off as many items as possible from his bucket list, including visits to Reptilia and to a butterfly conservatory, among other places.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Sajjade Tugano has come a long way since he first set foot in Chibougamau, six hours north of Quebec City, in the depths of winter in November 2021.
A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
A community organization wants to breathe new life into a historic building in Regina.
Some Prince County residents are walking away with more answers after attending Tuesday night's public information session in Albany, P.E.I., on the Wejipek Wind Project.
After just a few months of using vape detectors in a couple of bathrooms, a B.C. high school principal says it's reduced vape use in those areas to basically zero.
Burlington MP Karina Gould gets boost from local young people after entering Liberal leadership race
A day after entering the Liberal leadership race, Burlington, Ont., MP and government House leader Karina Gould was cheered at a campaign launch party by local residents — including young people expressing hope the 37-year-old politician will represent their voices.
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Subway service is down on Line 1 between Sheppard West and Lawrence West due to a broken power rail, the TTC said Wednesday morning.
A long-term care home in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood has cleared one more hurdle to add desperately needed beds to its property, a move that's been praised by housing advocates but opposed by locals concerned about the impact on the neighbourhood.
A Charlottetown resident is calling on the P.E.I. government to do more to protect homeowners after reading about a recent oil spill very similar to one on his Montague property 20 years ago, which he says ruined him financially.
WARNING: This story includes details of abuse.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.