A LaSalle teen has been found not guilty in a fiery crash in Amherstburg that claimed the life of his friend.
In Provincial Offences Court on Thursday, Justice Salma Jaffar acquitted 17-year-old Ryan Hatton on the charge of careless driving in a crash that killed 16-year-old Nick Dyer in February 2017.
Hatton was driving a car on Concession 4 North with three friends inside when he testified he heard a bang, like a tire blew, and the car veered to the left striking a culvert, went airborne and landed on its roof in a field--the engine then burst into flames.
The judge found since there wasn't a police examination of the vehicle, the occupants in the car did not refute Hatton's testimony.
Justice Jaffar referred to it as a 'less than perfect investigation', but Hatton's lawyer Dan Scott says the outcome would have been the same.
"Ultimately had they conducted the investigation, as it should have been conducted, I don't think that would have altered the facts," he says.
Scott says Hatton feels horrible over what happened.
"That is something he will wear for the rest of his life. These guys were best friends and to be involved in an accident where you are the driver, where your best friend passes away, is a horrible cross to bear."
The Dyer family did not want to comment on the judgement.