A fatal hit-and-run case that frustrated police for six months will finally go to court this month when the man accused of killing a good Samaritan on the Anthony Henday in June is scheduled to make his first court appearance.

Kieran Porter, 35, is charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident causing death, careless driving and hit and run in the death of 46-year-old Andrew Green.

Green had stopped on the busy ring road on June 13, 2012, to help a stranger fix a flat tire when, according to court documents, he was struck by an SUV with such force that it threw him three car lengths.

Green died at the scene of extensive head injuries while the driver fled the scene.

The next day Porter met with police, who then seized his vehicle finding the driver's side airbag deployed and DNA evidence.

Still, it took police six months to lay charges.

Police Chief Rod Knecht admits it's one of the frustrations of police work.

"Sometimes you're seized with the obvious and yet the law doesn't work in that manner all the time," he said. "As a member of the public sometimes, I get very frustrated by the way the law works."

Under provincial law, drivers must report a serious accident, but a Supreme Court decision states police cannot use that accident report in a criminal case.

As Porter had stopped cooperating with police, that forced investigators to find an independent witness to the crash, said police.

"There is a right to silence or a principle against self-incrimination," said University of Alberta law professor Steve Penney. "You do not have an obligation to talk to the police."

Charges were finally laid just days before a six-month deadline.

Porter will make his first court appearance Jan. 16.