A 20-year-old man has been charged with several offences in relation to an incident last September in which a teen riding a scooter was struck by a suspected impaired driver who fled the scene.
Jakob Warren Andrist Betsworth made his first appearance in Abbotsford provincial court yesterday (Thursday) on charges of impaired driving, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, two counts of failing to stop at the scene of an accident, and two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm.
The collision took place Sept. 26 at about 12:30 a.m. in the area of Essendene and Gladys avenue.
A 13-year-old boy on a scooter was with a group of friends who were crossing east on Essendene in the crosswalk, when a Mustang – travelling north on Gladys – attempted to stop at a red light and skidded through the intersection.
The vehicle crashed into a southbound Dodge truck, driven by a 17-year-old girl, and then veered toward the group of teens. All were able to jump out of the way, except for the boy on the scooter. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the Mustang then fled the scene on foot, but was caught a short distance away. A passenger in the vehicle remained on scene.