Four years after she lost her father in a car crash involving an excessive speeder, Monique Hui is being given another chance to find justice.
An appeal has been scheduled for May 31 that will look to overturn the acquittal of the driver involved in that crash, which killed Dr. Alphonsus Hui in November 2015.
Ken Chung was originally charged with dangerous driving causing death following the crash. He had been travelling 140 km/h in a 50 km/h zone on Oak Street and was moving at 119 km/h when the crash happened.
WATCH: (Aired June 10, 2018) Petition for changes to dangerous driving laws
Alphonsus Hui, who was headed to work when the collision occurred, died at the scene from multiple blunt force trauma.
In May 2018, a judge ruled Chung’s speeding was a “momentary lapse” and did not meet the test to find criminal fault.
Monique Hui immediately launched a petition calling not only for an appeal but also for changes to B.C.’s dangerous driving laws. The petition has since gained nearly 100,000 signatures.
“It makes me feel … cautiously optimistic, because 100,000 people can’t be wrong,” Hui said Wednesday.
While the appeal proceeding will take a day, Hui said it may take up to six months before a decision is released. Even then, that decision can only determine whether an error was made “in the application of the law,” and may not result in jail time for Chung.
WATCH: (Aired June 18) Disturbing dash cam video shows horrific high-speed crash that killed Dr. Alphonsus Hui
That means even more waiting, which Hui said has become a sad reality for her and her family.
“I’m not over it. I will never be over it. My family will never be over it,” she said. “And the fact that this legal case continues to go on and on, it keeps us hostage in that same place.
“Obviously I hope they see the legal case as we do and as the Crown does.”
Chung’s lawyer would not comment on the appeal, saying the matter is before the courts.
Hui’s appeals to the government for tougher dangerous driving penalties, meanwhile, have also gone nowhere.
Talks with Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth broke down last summer after privacy laws prevented them from discussing the case. She said an attempt to raise the issue with the superintendent of motor vehicles was also scuttled over similar concerns.
WATCH: (Aired June 15) Family fights for justice after speeder kills beloved doctor
“I really ran out of steam because I was hitting dead end after dead end,” Hui said.
The news of an appeal has given Hui some more energy, she said, hoping it can send a message that excessive speeders should be kept off the streets.
“Just one driver like that can be in a position to continuing to injure, or even worse, kill, more fathers, more brothers, more sisters, more of our community,” she said.
Hui added it’s the memory of her father that gives her the strength to keep fighting, and the hope she can make a difference so no other family has to go through the same loss she suffered.
“I’d be lying if I said that I don’t miss him literally every single day,” she said. “It’s just the wound that never truly heals. It’s very difficult.”
—With files from John Hua
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