Langley Mounties are reaching out to motorists and the families at nearby schools in the search for more evidence in the hit and run that left a 12-year-old boy in a medically induced coma.
An electronic sign board on 232nd Street, not far from where Jesse Brown was struck by a car on Sept. 13, is asking passing drivers who may be witnesses or have dash cam footage to contact the Langley RCMP.
In addition, families at two private Christian schools on 48th Avenue west of 232nd near the crash site will be getting notifications asking them for footage or witness accounts, if they saw anything, said Supt. Murray Power, head of the Langley RCMP detachment.
“That investigation has had a significant impact on our membership, with wanting to get to a solution,” Power said.
He said the local RCMP are pulling out all the stops in the investigation.
READ MORE: Father of 12-year-old Langley hit and run victim calls for tougher drinking and driving laws
“Kids walking home from school should not be exposed to being run down,” said Power.
One aspect in this and other cases is the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2016 Jordan decision, which means that provincial courts only have 18 months to try a suspect after the charge is laid.
That has meant that police and Crown prosecutors – who actually decide what charges will be laid – are being cautious about the timing of charges.
“The case has to be ready to go before a charge is laid,” said Power. “And that decision’s not helping any victim family.”
Power said he understands the frustration when charges may take some time to be laid.
As of this week, Brown remains in a coma. His father Tony Brown said his son was in surgery for 11 hours after the crash, and suffered multiple broken bones in his face, a broken arm, and fractures to his back when he was struck walking home from Peterson Road Elementary, where he is a Grade 7 student.
The driver fled the scene of the crash. Police later took a 29-year-old woman into custody and issued her with an administrative driving prohibition. A male passenger in the vehicle was also arrested, for allegedly attempting to hide the car.
Police said the same vehicle, believed to be a Nissan Pathfinder, also struck an 18-year-old near Langley Secondary School the same afternoon. That victim required medical care but was treated and released from the hospital the same day.
