Menu

Topics

Connect

Comments

Comments closed.

Due to the sensitive and/or legal subject matter of some of the content on globalnews.ca, we reserve the ability to disable comments from time to time.

Please see our Commenting Policy for more.

Trial begins for driver in fiery fatal Peace Arch border crash

In May 2019, a Porsche Cayenne SUV ran into a van driven by B.C. pastor Tom Cheung. The minivan had containers of gasoline and burst into flames. The driver did not escape. It took nearly four years but a charge of dangerous driving causing death has now been laid against 39-year-old Gurbinder Singh. Kristen Robinson reports. – Apr 21, 2023

A trial is underway for a Washington state man accused of causing a fiery crash that killed a B.C. pastor at the Peace Arch border crossing five years ago.

Story continues below advertisement

Gurbinder Singh, 40, pleaded not guilty on Monday to dangerous driving causing death in the explosive collision that left Pastor Tom Cheung dead on May 2, 2019.

Cheung’s widow, two sons and several church members were in court to witness proceedings.

Many of the facts of the deadly collision are not disputed, and the case will hinge on Singh’s intentions at the time, along with the possible argument that he is not criminally responsible by way of a mental disorder (NCRMD).

Story continues below advertisement

The agreed facts in the case include that Singh was travelling north at 120 km/h in a 30 km/h zone on Highway 99 in a Porsche Cayenne at the time of the crash.

He struck the rear of the Toyota Sienna Cheung was driving back to Canada after fuelling up on the U.S. side of the border.

The collision pushed the Sienna into a flowerbed 65 metres (213 feet) from the point of impact, where the minivan burst into flames.

Cheung was killed on impact, the court heard. Singh was still in the driver’s seat of his vehicle when witnesses arrived, and Canada Border Services Agency members took him into custody at the scene.

A mechanical inspection found both vehicles were in good working order, and a blood test found under 10 milligrams of alcohol in Singh’s system.

Story continues below advertisement

The court heard testimony from its first witness, a CBSA officer who rushed to the scene following the collision.

He told the court Singh had scratches on his hands and the back of his head and described putting him in handcuffs.

Singh, he testified, was co-operative but wouldn’t answer questions and was muttering incoherent phrases.

The trial is slated to last four days.

Advertisement

You are viewing an Accelerated Mobile Webpage.

View Original Article