Dozens of friends and classmates of a teenager whose life was cut short by a car crash marched from their school to the Laval courthouse on Tuesday.

Dressed all in black, they wanted to show their support for the family of 15-year-old Ronia Mansourian, as the man accused of killing her in a hit-and-run appeared for a bail hearing.

"If it's hard for us, imagine for her family," said one girl. "We know they need the support so we organized this and decided to come here and help them out."

Friends of Ronia are also actively showing their support for her family on a Facebook page.

The students, surrounded by police cars, walked in the street from Saint Maxime high school to the courthouse near Highway 15 and St. Martin.

At the courthouse they met Ronia's family, who leaned on each other as they walked into court.

Extra security

Police and extra security brought into the courthouse to make sure the students did not get out of hand were unnecessary.

"It's only for their security," said Nathalie Lorrain of the Laval police.

People were carrying large photos of Ronia, and while many were visibly upset and angry, nobody took any direct action against the accused.

The students sat quietly as Robert Belanger was led into the courtroom, although several gasps of shock were heard.

Belanger's hearing lasted only a few seconds, as lawyers agreed to postpone his bail hearing until Sept. 17.

The accused kept his back to the crowd and sobbed profusely as his lawyers requested the postponement.

"We have to prove he's dangerous. We'll submit all our arguments on the 17th, but not right now," said prosecutor Jean-Pascal Boucher.

Teen's death

Ronia was struck by a car on Sept. 3 on Levesque Blvd. as she was on her lunch break from school. The collision hurled her into a city bus that had stopped on the narrow road to let her cross.

The driver of the hit-and-run vehicle sped off, and roughly 12 hours later, 22-year-old Robert Belanger turned himself into the police.

Ronia died the next morning of her injuries.

Belanger faces charges of dangerous driving causing death, and leaving the scene of an accident.

Bail difficult

Recent court cases have demonstrated that drivers accused of hit and run are unlikely to get bail. Of note in Belanger's case are his prior convictions for theft, drug possession, and leading police on a high speed case, the fact he was driving with a suspended licence, and is currently out on bail while awaiting trial for fraud.

"It was frustrating for me to have him standing there, pretending he was very emotional and sorry, but it's not his first crime," said Ronia's aunt Marie Tatazian at the courthouse.

If convicted, Belanger faces life in prison.