Trial begins for B.C. driver accused of killing toddler, seriously injuring dad

Prosecutors say a traffic light in downtown Vancouver had been red for more than 20 seconds when a B.C. man drove into the intersection, causing a multi-vehicle crash that killed a 23-month-old girl and seriously injured her father.

Seyed Moshfeghi Zadeh has pleaded not guilty to with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death and dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm in the July 6, 2021 crash.

In opening arguments, Crown prosecutor Brent Anderson told the court how Michael Hiiva and his young daughter Ocean were crossing Hornby Street when Zadeh’s Ford Escape entered the intersection, struck a McLaren and then rolled on top of the two.

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Ocean was killed almost instantly, while Hiiva suffered life-changing injuries.

Zadeh has admitted to being behind the wheel, but maintains the crash was just a terrible accident.

The Crown will need to prove criminality in the case.

The court has heard that neither the Ford nor the McLaren had any mechanical defects, and that toxicology had revealed Zadeh was not impaired by drugs or alcohol. He was going about 47 kilometres per hour at the time of the crash.

Vancouver police Const. Anthony Blackman, the first officer at the scene, testified that he was flagged down on the street about the crash.

When he arrived, he found the child already dead with a critical neck injury, and a man with broken arms and legs and bones protruding through his flesh.

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He said Zadeh, whom he recognized from previous interactions, told him he’d been thrown from his own vehicle, though there was no obvious damage to the Ford indicating how that could have happened.

Zadeh told him “it was just an accident,” he testified.

The court also heard testimony from Vancouver police Const. John Stwart with the collision investigation unit.

Stewart described arriving at the scene to find the Ford on a sidewalk and the McLaren damaged farther west on Hornby Street.

“This has been a difficult call for me,” he told the court. “It has had an impact on me.”

Stewart walked the court through security video shot from the nearby Vancouver Law Courts that showed Hiiva and Ocean entering the crosswalk.

The video then shows the Ford entering the intersection before the crash takes place off-camera, and the Ford returns into the frame, stopped on a curb.

Ocean’s mother, Star Joinson, observed Tuesday’s proceedings via a video link.

In a previous interview, she told Global News that Hiiva used a wheelchair for more than six months after the crash and suffered broken bones, a collapsed lung and a lacerated spleen.

The trial is slated for four days. Two civilian witnesses, including the McLaren driver are expected to testify Wednesday.