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17-year-old hit-and-run driver sentenced to supervision order

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Molly Burton

The 17-year-old driver who pleaded guilty for hit-and-run involving 25-year-old Molly Burton received a 24-month supervision order with three months house arrest Friday at the Courtenay courthouse.

The driver, who cannot be named because of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, looked ahead in front of a packed courtroom as the judge laid out the conditions of his order including a five-year driving prohibition, 200 hours of community service, a curfew, and a written apology to Burton.

Nearly a year ago, Burton suffered injuries to her lower right leg and right arm when she was struck by a vehicle on Comox (Dyke) Road around 11:30 p.m. Sept. 11, 2013.

After she was struck, Burton remained in a blackberry bush for approximately four hours until Brody Fullerton heard her screams for help.

Fullerton, who was on his boat across the water near the Courtenay Airpark, took out his flashlight and examined the brush, thinking someone might have been lost.

He took his bike and searched the bushes for Burton's voice, and found her about 45 minutes later.

"I'm happy with the driving ban, I'm happy with the community service," explained Burton from her wheelchair following sentencing outside the courthouse.

"I wanted jail time ... I knew it was an unrealistic expectation. I've been jailed; it seems pretty unfair that he isn't."

Burton said she hopes the sentencing acts a a deterrent, but, "the message this sends is that you're allowed to plow into somebody ... and ruin their life, way to waste their life for a year and probably many more years to come, and you're going to be grounded by a judge for a couple of months."

See Tuesday's Comox Valley Record for the full story on the sentencing.

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Erin Haluschak

About the Author: Erin Haluschak

Erin Haluschak is a journalist with the Comox Valley Record since 2008. She is also the editor of Trio Magazine...
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