A Surrey woman has been charged in the death of Kassandra Kaulius, who died in a collision in Newton almost a year ago.
Natasha Leigh Warren, 34, has been charged with dangerous driving causing death, impaired driving causing death, causing an accident resulting in death, and failure to stop at an accident causing bodily harm.
Kaulius, 22, (pictured at left) was returning home in her older-model BMW from a softball game in Cloverdale on May 3, 2011 when a woman ran a red light in a van, smashing into the BMW at the corner of 152 Street and 64 Avenue.
Police now believe that woman was Warren.
Kaulius' father Victor told The Leader Wednesday the family is pleased with the charges and they hope the courts follow up with adequate sentencing.
"We're not looking for the death penalty," Victor Kaulius said. "It's not going to help our daughter or our situation. Our real goal is, I hope the court does the right thing (which is) a deterrent that will stop those next people from getting behind that wheel."
The Kaulius family has been pushing for stiffer drinking driving penalties, including an automatic two-year driving suspension for someone arrested for impaired driving. And if that person is impaired and involved in an accident, the family wants a minimum five-year jail sentence.
RCMP Cpl. Barb Creighton said the case was extremely complicated and the Surrey RCMP's Criminal Collision Investigation Team is still working on the file.
The investigation even required a re-enactment of the accident and eventually resulted in more than 2,000 pages of disclosures to Crown counsel.
Victor Kaulius said the wait wasn't easy, but it was worth it.
"It goes without saying, we'd like everything done within the next day of my daughter's death, but that's not how it works," he said. "I would rather it take longer and their report (to Crown) was accurate and they've done the right thing."
Hearing that charges have been laid brought a flood of emotions for the family, Victor Kaulius said.
"We're hurting like crazy because of this," he said, adding the family's faith has helped carry them through the pain. He knows they're in store for another long wait as the case winds its way through the courts.
"There's always that slim hope that she'd plead guilty right away," Victor Kaulius said.
As of Wednesday, a date for Warren's first court appearance had not been scheduled.