The motive force of a cargo van concerned in a lethal wrong-way crash on Freeway 401 east of Toronto late final month was below a court docket order to not be behind the wheel, in response to court docket data.
The collision, which concerned six automobiles, killed 4 individuals. In keeping with Ontario’s Particular Investigations Unit (SIU), three of those that died — an toddler and his grandparents visiting from India — had been in a single automobile, a Nissan Sentra. The motive force of the cargo van, which was being pursued by police, additionally died.
The toddler’s dad and mom, additionally within the Nissan Sentra, had been taken to hospital for remedy, with the mom severely injured, the SIU has mentioned. A male passenger of the cargo van was additionally severely harm on account of the collision.
Court docket paperwork obtained by Ontario Chronicle present Gagandeep Singh was going through a number of legal charges at the moment and had allegedly damaged a situation of his launch, specifically “not be within the driver seat of a motorcar.”
Defence lawyer John Christie, whose agency lately represented Singh in court docket, confirmed to Ontario Chronicle that Singh was the van driver.
Court docket data present Singh had been charged on Feb. 28 with being within the possession of a stolen automobile in Whitby. The cost sheet says the 21-year-old was out on a launch order following a earlier arrest, and that his circumstances said he could not be behind the wheel.
He was granted bail the following day.
Separate court docket data, which checklist Singh as having no fastened handle, allege he’d stolen merchandise from an LCBO outlet in Burlington and one other in Oakville over the course of three days in January.
Lawyer calls bail choice ‘acceptable’
Within the Oakville incident, Singh is alleged to have used violence whereas finishing up the theft. The identical month, Singh was additionally charged with stealing merchandise from a Dwelling Depot location in Milton.
He was due again in court docket on Could 14.
In an interview with Ontario Chronicle, Christie referred to as the bail circumstances to which Singh was presupposed to be adhering “acceptable.
“It is a 21-year-old man who’s accused of getting stolen bottles of liquor from liquor shops. There’s an epidemic of that,” he mentioned. “If individuals who had been stealing liquor from liquor shops weren’t given bail … the jails can be full.”
WATCH | Automobile goes fallacious approach earlier than crash:
Dashcam footage reveals van driving fallacious approach earlier than deadly Freeway 401 crash
Milica Maljkovic Birkett discovered herself in the course of a police chase throughout her Monday commute. Dashcam video reveals the van barrelling towards her as police adopted on Freeway 401 in Whitby.
Christie additionally mentioned if an individual who steals liquor is convicted, they’re more likely to get a sentence starting from probation to a brief stint in jail — wherever from a day to every week behind bars. But it usually take months for charges like that to maneuver via the courts, which would go away an individual incarcerated for an extended interval than the penalty they might probably face.
“You possibly can’t maintain individuals in jail for minor offences,” he mentioned. “Solely probably the most draconian justice techniques deny bail as an everyday plan of action.”
The SIU, which is probing the high-speed police pursuit and ensuing crash, mentioned Durham police had been referred to as to reply to an LCBO theft in Bowmanville, Ont. that night.
Police had been chasing the van on one in every of Canada’s busiest highways as Singh was going the fallacious approach and crashed into oncoming site visitors. The collision killed three-month-old Aditya Vivaan from Ajax, and the boy’s grandparents, Manivannan Srinivasapillai and Mahalakshmi Ananthakrishnan, who had been visiting from Chennai, India.
Household reeling from tragedy
The crash additionally injured the toddler’s dad and mom, Gokulnath Manivannan and Ashwitha Jawahar. The SIU mentioned the couple was travelling in the identical Nissan Sentra as their baby and Manivannan’s dad and mom.
In an announcement launched earlier this month, Manivannan mentioned he and his spouse are at a “full lack of phrases to explain the agony and vacuum in our hearts” within the wake of the crash.
“The ache of my very own accidents pales as I grapple with the shock and lack of my dad and mom and my solely son on the identical night and the ordeal continues with my spouse’s continued affected by surgical procedures and repeated flashbacks of the trauma,” he mentioned.
“The aftermath has left an indelible mark on our lives, with profound grief. Whereas we start the arduous journey of planning farewells for our family members, we prolong our heartfelt gratitude to the group who maintain our household of their ideas,” mentioned Manivannan.
Final week, cops and emergency dispatchers in Durham Area had been instructed to finish a compulsory coaching course on suspect pursuits inside the subsequent two months.
