Peel Regional Police say the body of a woman was discovered after the fact in the back seat of a wrecked car in a tow yard, and only hours after her family had reported her missing.
On Saturday, Nov. 1 at around 4:20 a.m., there was a collision in Brampton, Ont., near Queen Street and Chinguacousy Road involving two vehicles.
Police initially said only one driver — a 31-year-old man who was working as a rideshare driver — died but later said the passenger of the vehicle, a 20-year-old woman, was also killed.
The 17-year-old driver of the other vehicle has been charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death and failing/refusing to comply with a demand for testing. The teen’s identity cannot be published due to provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Global News has learned the woman’s body was only discovered after her family had reported her missing hours after the collision. She has been identified by family and friends as Kourtney Khan.
In a statement, Peel police said when first responders initially arrived at the scene, they found the driver dead inside a Honda Civic. He had to be extricated from the car.
“At this time, there was no immediate or clear indication of a passenger,” police said in their statement.
The driver of the Honda was working as a Lyft driver that night, Global News has learned, and had a rider inside the vehicle.
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“We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss,” said a spokesperson from Lyft. “Our hearts are with the families and loved ones of the driver and rider, and we have reached out to offer our support. We stand ready to assist law enforcement with any investigation.”
Global News spoke to a close friend of the driver — who identified the victim as Sukhdev Singh — and said that Sukhdev had his warehouse shift cancelled and was looking to drive for Lyft to make up for the lost money.
“His company canceled his shift. So he was just making up for that and went for a Lyft,” said Sukhdev’s friend Dilraj Singh. “As per his Lyft details … He picked her up at 4:15 … so this all happened in a time frame of 10 minutes.”
Dilraj said Sukhdev was married and the father of a baby girl. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family and has accumulated more than $53,000 by Thursday afternoon. Dilraj said Sukhdev’s wife called him when she learned about the car crash and he rushed to her home. He said he was there when police came to the door to tell Sukhdev’s wife he had died.
Meanwhile, the force said the scene was processed and both vehicles were taken to a police impound yard for further analysis.
“In the hours after the collision, we received reports of a missing 20-year-old woman whose last known location, confirmed through a shared tracking app, was the crash site,” police said.
Officers were sent to the crash site and the impound yard to find any evidence of a passenger.
Police said the back seat of the “demolished” Honda Civic was examined and the woman was found “embedded in the wreckage.”
They then called Brampton Fire and Emergency Services to extract her with the use of specialized equipment.
Police said she was in the vehicle for more than 12 hours. Family had reported her missing at around 4 p.m. and she was located sometime after 5 p.m. Saturday.
A full review of the incident is underway, police said.
“Our thoughts remain with the families and all those affected by this tragic collision,” police said. “We recognize the profound impact of this tragedy and ask that the privacy of the families involved be respected as they continue to grieve this loss.”
A spokesperson for Ontario’s coroner’s office, Stephanie Rea, said police and paramedics had reported only one fatality to the coroner.
“When the coroner arrived at the scene, the reported deceased individual had been removed from the vehicle,” Rea said. “When the second fatality was reported to the coroner, they attended the second scene. Given the ongoing nature of the death investigation, further details cannot be released. The investigating coroner continues to keep both families apprised.”
The Special Investigations Unit, known as Ontario’s police watchdog that investigates the conduct of officers when there is death involved, said it is not investigating the incident.
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