Irwin Richard Franz charged in Annie Leung's hit and run
Annie Leung, 16, was struck and killed near Riverside Secondary School in Sept. 2013
A 73-year-old Port Coquitlam man has been charged in the 2013 hit-and-run death of 16-year-old Annie Leung, RCMP announced on Thursday.
Irwin Richard Franz has been charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident causing bodily harm or death.
Leung, a grade 10 student at Riverside Secondary School died in hospital after she was hit at the marked crosswalk at Mary Hill Road and Pitt River Road on Sept. 10, 2013.
Franz told CBC News the accident wasn't his fault. He says he was coming home from Costco when he heard a bump and a scream. He says he should have stopped, but he drove home and walked back to the scene where people were gathered around someone in the crosswalk.
The retired psychiatric nurse says after the incident, he himself spent a month in hospital in psychiatric care.
Police released surveillance tape from the scene showing an older man with greying hair driving a black pickup truck with a black canopy that left the scene after the girl was hit.
On Thursday investigators said they received more than 100 tips leading them to execute several search warrants before eventually arresting and charging Franz.
Police say Franz had a valid driver's licence at the time of the crash but would not say if he is still driving.
He is not considered a flight risk and was released from custody pending a court appearance on Aug. 25. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
With files from Belle Puri