Hit-and-run victim’s mom says son was kind
The mother of the man struck and killed last week in a hitand-run on Lakeshore Road in Niagara-on-the-lake is wondering why the driver didn’t stop.
Colleen Franz said her son, 40-year-old Matthew Wilson, would have been more worried about the driver of the Ford F-150 that hit him than himself had the driver stopped to check on him.
“He never had any anger towards anybody,” Franz said of her son. “He forgave everybody, he was the peacemaker, the healer, the mediator. That’s the type of person he was.”
Niagara Regional Police and Niagara Emergency Medical Services arrived in the area of Lakeshore Road and Mcnab Road at about 7:18 a.m. on April 5. They found Wilson on the side of the road.
While police have identified the driver of the truck that was eastbound on Lakeshore Road before it struck Wilson, they said the investigation is still ongoing by detectives with the collision reconstruction unit. A name has not been released.
Franz said police believe Wilson was struck at about 11 the night before. She said two men initially found Wilson’s body, with one calling it in to 911 while the other tried performing CPR. Franz said she has been in contact with both men and thanked them for stopping.
“This world needs more people like them,” she said. “I (told) them they are true heroes and angels walking this earth.”
Franz said she doesn’t want to be bitter toward the truck driver, but that person should have felt the impact, stopped and looked around. “I just wonder why he didn’t stop,” Franz said.
Wilson was born in Niagara Falls, and the family moved to Niagara-on-the-lake when he was seven years old. He attended Virgil Public School and Niagara District Secondary School. He maintained an average grade above 85 for a majority of his school years. He would later study computer science at Brock University and photography at Niagara College.
Wilson had a passion for music growing up. He learned to play the piano and later on his older brother taught him how to play guitar. Wilson also played a handful of sports but loved hockey. He had a passion for both photography and computer programming, as well.
Franz said her son was a kind and giving person.
She recalled one time when they were walking along King Street in a cold winter. They noticed a man shivering in a T-shirt, and Wilson asked the man where his coat was. When the man responded he didn’t have one, Wilson took off his recently purchased jacket and gave it to him. “He just wanted to make everybody happy,” Franz said. “You called him, you need him, he’d be there. He was always able to find time to help anybody in need.”
While Wilson was her son, Franz said it was the friendship they established together that was special.
“He became a friend in his late years because once you stop having to be the disciplinary parent, then you develop a different relationship,” she said. “He always had a really positive optimistic outlook.”
Franz has been touched by the outpouring of kindness and love she has gotten over the past week. Receiving messages from many people who knew her son, including former childhood friends, teachers and others he met along the way.
“They’ve all said the one outstanding thing about him was his kindness,” Franz said. “It’s helping to know that there are so many people that loved Matthew.”