Drivers given $1,600 in fines for death of 15-year-old girl in marked Burnaby crosswalk

WARNING: This story contains information that may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.

Two men convicted in the pedestrian death of a 15-year-old girl in Burnaby in 2018 have been given fines.

Drivers Paul Oliver Wong and Kai Man Cheu will both pay $1,600. They were not given any driving prohibitions even though Crown had asked for two years prohibition for Wong and one year for Cheu. However, the judge ruled their driving history didn’t warrant taking them off the road.

2:17 Two drivers convicted in death of teenaged pedestrian

Fernanda Girotto was crossing Cariboo Road in a crosswalk on the morning of Jan. 17, 2018 when she was struck by a vehicle allegedly owned by Wong, who then stopped to help.

As she lay in the crosswalk, she was then hit by a second vehicle, allegedly driven by Cheu, who did not stop.

Girotto became wedged under the second vehicle and it’s alleged she was dragged 40 metres before the driver stopped.

1:39 Trial begins for two men accused in fatal crosswalk crash

In February, Wong and Cheu were found guilty of driving without due care and attention.

In 2019, the court heard from a paramedic and police officer who attended the scene. The paramedic said they tried everything they could do to extricate Girotto from under the car and resuscitate her, but she did not survive.

Neither driver was speeding or impaired, and both men cooperated with the investigation.

Wong was also charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, while Cheu faced additional charges of unsafe passing on the left and crossing a solid double line. A conditional stay was issued for those remaining charges.