A Vancouver man charged in the deaths of two people after a car left the road in West Vancouver in 2021 was found not guilty Friday (July 4) in B.C. Supreme Court.
Two Surrey men, both 20, were killed in a crash on Cypress Bowl Road early Sept. 2, 2021. One of the victims was celebrating his birthday with a group of young men.
Justice Catherine Murray said the group ended up in three separate vehicles while out celebrating around 4 a.m. when the driver of a Jeep Cherokee crashed coming into a hairpin turn.
The Jeep flipped onto its top; one person was ejected through the sunroof.
Sandhu was taken into custody at the scene and then taken to hospital.
The Crown initially swore two counts of criminal negligence causing death against Dilpreet Singh Sandhu.
As of Sandhu’s appearance before Murray on May 8, 2024, the charges were impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08, dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.
The primary issue before Murray as she gave her reasons for judgment was the identity of who was driving the Jeep Cherokee that flipped.
She heard from a police officer who was at the scene, the paramedic who took Sandhu to Lions Gate Hospital, the emergency room doctor and survivors of the accident.
She said she couldn’t rely on the officer’s testimony, and that the information from the paramedic and doctor came from their notes and did not rise to the needed level of identification of Sandhu as the driver.
Murray said those involved in the accident were either drunk, high on marijuana or had done heroin, or all three. She found their identification evidence unreliable as well.
The judge noted one man’s statement to police was admitted as evidence. She called it “strong evidence” but added that was undermined by his testimony at trial.
She also noted the witness had been smoking marijuana, consuming cannabis edibles, using heroin and “high to the point of hallucinating” of the time of the crash.
As well, DNA was taken from the interior of the vehicle but that, too, was inconclusive.
Having addressed those factors, she asked Sandhu to stand.
“Mr. Sandhu, I find you not guilty,” she said.
With identification of the driver not proven, Murray did not address the rest of the charges.
Sandhu declined to comment on Murray’s decision. He was represented by lawyer Joven Narwal and Joshua Wandler of Narwal Litigation.
