A Surrey man has been charged with manslaughter and 14 other charges related to a traffic crash in Newton on March 22, 2017.
Iqbal Singh Sidhu, 69, is also charged with impaired driving causing death, criminal negligence causing death, operating a vehicle with over 80 mgs of alcohol causing death, three counts of impaired driving causing bodily injury, three counts of operation of a vehicle with over 80 mgs of alcohol causing bodily harm, three counts of criminal negligence causing bodily injury and two counts of failure to stop at the scene of an accident.
The crash, at 72nd Avenue and 152nd Street, killed a 62-year-old woman from Port Coquitlam.
Sidhu appeared in Surrey provincial court on Sept. 26 and has been released on numerous conditions.
Police said at the time of the crash that a green GMC Safari van heading east on 72nd struck several vehicles in the 14000-block and continued on to 152nd where it smashed into a Suzuki Swift sedan, killing its driver. Her name has not been released.
“The investigation conducted by our Criminal Collision Investigation Team and police partners was a long and complicated investigation in order to gather the required evidence which enabled the BC Prosecution Service to lay these specific charges,” said Surrey RCMP Superintendent Shawn Gill. “The Surrey RCMP is committed to keeping our roads safe through a number of enforcement initiatives and prevention and education efforts. Traffic safety remains a top priority for our detachment as the number of road users increases on our streets.”
Last year was particularly bad for traffic crashes in Surrey. Seven pedestrians were killed and 11 were seriously injured in 2017. All told, there were 19 traffic fatalities in Surrey last year and 23 serious injuries. The year before was not much better. In comparison, 10 pedestrians were killed in Surrey in 2016 and 20 were seriously injured. Surrey recorded 14 traffic fatalities and 29 people were seriously injured in crashes in 2016.
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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