Alex Dalton’s parents speak about returning to court, life after loss
HAGERSVILLE—For over a week, Alex Dalton’s friends and family had to relive the agony of April 23, 2021 and the hollow days that followed after the 23-year-old died in a hit and run near his Hagersville home, as the suspected driver was put on trial.
“The trial just re-traumatized us, which is why I struggled so deeply to go back to that night. It was the worst night of my life; the worst night of my family’s life,” said Andrea King, Alex’s mom.
In the end, on April 25, 2024, Timothy Anthony Clarke was acquitted of the charges that had been brought against him: criminal negligence causing death, failure to stop at an accident involving death, and driving while prohibited.
The jury had determined there was reasonable doubt that Clarke was responsible. Now Alex’s family is left frustrated and questioning.
“Somebody knows who killed Alex,” said Wayne Dalton, Alex’s dad. “I would like to see somebody pay for what they did to him. I’d like to see some justice served at the end of the day.”
He said after the trial, he was left angry and “totally upset, that we didn’t get what we wanted.”
Dalton said when he looked on social media, he saw that the public is “obviously in awe as well about the outcome of the trial. They’ve got the same sort of feelings, that someone was responsible, and someone should pay for what they did.”
In a way, though, the trial almost didn’t matter, because as King noted, “We are obviously markedly different now without Alex.… Our outcome is already a life sentence.”
King can’t comprehend how whomever is responsible for her son’s death could “just leave him dead on the road, without any humanity.”
She knows in her heart that so much of the reverberating pain that followed could have been lessened if only the SUV hadn’t driven off into the night after hitting the rear of Alex’s motorcycle; if whomever was responsible had immediately come forward; if only the investigation hadn’t dragged on for months.
Three other people were charged in connection with Alex’s death besides Clarke: a man from Ohsweken was charged with being an accessory after the fact to commit an indictable offence; a woman from Ohsweken was charged with public mischief — misleading, with intent to mislead, causing a peace officer to enter on or continue an investigation; and a woman from Waterford was charged with being an accessory after the fact to commit an indictable offence and public mischief.
The Press contacted the Ministry of the Attorney General’s office to confirm what happened with these individuals, but did not get a reply prior to press deadline.
King said in her opinion, there are improvements needed in how the justice system operates when it comes to victims and their families.
“Our justice system is very broken … to bear witness to that firsthand, it’s harsh.”
For example, she said that while the family was kept informed about upcoming trial dates, no one told them when some of those who had been convicted were released early.
She also said it became more difficult to access support services as more time passed since Alex’s death.
“Victims are almost a second thought.”
As hard as it was to experience, King is trying to move past the court as best she can; there are those who walk with her on the journey.
King is Anishinaabe Kwe (woman) and Eagle clan from Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation; midway through the trial, she spoke with one of her Elders.
“My Elder was really wise, of course, in his words. (He) said to me, ‘You know, your healing’s not coming from the outcome of the trial. Their accountability is not coming from the outcome of the trial, because they are the people that they are.… They’ve never owned it.’”
Instead, King said, “I just trust the Spirit, karma, whatever you want to call it. Their consequences will arrive; in a different way, perhaps.”
In the meantime, King said she lives “a very simple, good life. And I’m doing mostly okay, because I have to be okay, right? I have two other children that need their mom. And my journey’s not done.”
She, Dalton, and the rest of Alex’s loved ones regularly and purposefully honour his memory. Many times, that means heading outdoors.
Dalton recalled, “He was always one with nature; that’s where he was most comfortable. He would be out hunting or having a fire somewhere, just in general being outside; he really liked it.”
He added that each year, when he and others do their annual moose hunting trip, they’ll bring an item of Alex’s hunting gear with them, so there’s a piece of him with them: “We still honour him by having a beer with him, that kind of stuff,” Dalton said. “And we do lay tobacco down for him.”
Dalton and King both shared how Alex’s friends still honour his memory by checking in and seeing how they’re doing as well.
King said Alex’s hunting buddies “fill my freezer in his absence, which is lovely; they make sure I have game meat all the time.”
She also noted that Alex also has two namesakes now in the next generation, thanks to one of his closest friends and a cousin, “Which is a beautiful thing.”
