Driver pleads guilty in hit-and-run death of Burlington cyclist

A Toronto woman said she didn’t realize she fatally struck and killed a cyclist while driving through Burlington last year.

The woman, Ji Feng, 42, has since pleaded guilty to failing to stop after an accident resulting in death.

She will be sentenced later this year.

The tragic incident occurred on May 18 of 2023 when 81-year-old Doug Fritz of Burlington was traveling on his bike along North Shore Boulevard on his way to an appointment at Joseph Brant Hospital.

According to court documents, Feng, who was also on her way to the hospital, struck Fritz throwing him onto the vehicle’s windshield before he landed on the road. He was not wearing a helmet.

The documents say Feng continued to the hospital for her appointment and contacted an insurance company when she noticed the damage to her windshield. Her vehicle was towed away for repairs but a hospital worker saw the damage and contacted police.

Following the information supplied by the hospital worker, and after obtaining dashcam video from another vehicle, police were able to track down Feng.

When she was arrested Feng told officers she didn’t realize she struck someone.

During an interview with halton.insauga.com last year with the victim’s daughter, it was learned that Fritz was a former Peel police officer.

In an ironic twist of fate, Fritz was on his way to the hospital where doctors were going to tell him he didn’t have cancer.

“That’s the hard part going through this,” said his daughter Jackie Fritz. “He was going to get good news. It should have been a great day for all of us but it became the worst.”