Driver charged in crash that killed Ottawa crossing guard pleads guilty to 1 of 2 charges

Artist sketch of Xzander Wright as he appeared during a court appearance on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Courtesy: Greg Banning)

The 19-year-old man charged in the hit-and-run death of an Ottawa crossing guard in March has pleaded guilty to one of the charges he is facing, but not guilty to another one.

Xzander Wright appeared in court Tuesday and pleaded guilty to failing to stop after an accident causing death but pleaded not guilty to dangerous operation causing death.

Crossing guard Peter Clark, 55, was struck by a vehicle at the corner of Cedarview Road and Kennvale Drive on March 23. Clark died from his injuries in hospital. His death sparked an outpouring of grief and emotion across Ottawa, which included flags being lowered to half-mast at all City of Ottawa facilities.

Wright was initially charged only with failure to stop, but a charge of dangerous operation was filed several weeks later.

“There’s no question as to who did this. There’s no question about the very tragic result, the death of Mr. Clark. There’s no question that it was caused by Mr. Wright. The question will be was this particular pattern of driving enough in law to be considered dangerous?” Wright’s lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said outside of court on Tuesday.

A trial date has not yet been set. Wright is back in court on May 8.

CTV News Ottawa reported last month that Wright is also facing an impaired driving charge in connection with a separate incident last July in eastern Ontario.

That matter is now scheduled to go to trial in a Brockville, Ont., court in December.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Katie Griffin