Police charge suspect in fatal hit-and-run

Police have arrested and charged a 19-year-old Morley man in connection with a fatal vehicle collision on the Trans-Canada Highway in early May.

Sgt. Colin Foster of the Calgary Police Service (CPS) said Fergus Matthew Hunter of Morley was charged after Cochrane RCMP arrested him in Cochrane, Tuesday (May 22) on separate matters.

Hunter is charged with one count each of hit and run and dangerous operation of a motorized vehicle causing death.

Foster said during the investigation, police received a large amount of information from anonymous sources. However, investigators faced the challenge of corroborating that information.

“Unfortunately, that takes time,” he said.

Ten-year-old Eleasha Wesley and her family were returning to Morley on May 3 at about 10:30 p.m. when a red 2002 Kia Sedona minivan slammed into the back of the Wesley’s 1998 Pontiac Grand Am on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Calgary.

Wesley, a Grade 4 student at Exshaw School, was thrown from the car. She died of her injuries at the Calgary Children’s Hospital.

The driver of the Kia Sedona fled the scene and the van was located the next morning at a home near Morley.

Hunter will appear in court today (May 24) in Calgary via CCTV from the Calgary Remand Centre.

Foster said that while he is pleased to have been able to lay charges in this case, he won’t be satisfied until there is a conviction.

“This is just the first step in the final stages. Getting the guy, getting him before the courts, getting him into the system is key,” he said.

Foster added the charges against Hunter have given the Wesley family a small measure of comfort.

“They’re still grieving for Eleasha, but what they are, I’m prepared to say, is they’re content. I think they are of the opinion they know that we haven’t forgotten them and that there has been a lot of time and effort to be sure that we have gotten the right guy.”