Husband of newlywed who died in collision testifies on first day of trial

Mandeep “Mander” Virpal recalled the terrible night in October 2018 when he and his new wife of just nine days were heading to his parents’ Brampton, Ont., home for the night, when they were hit by a car that came out of nowhere.

“I was in shock. I was hit so hard it felt like I was in some sort of tornado. Eventually it stopped. It was smoky. All the air bags were out and at that point I realized I was hit by a vehicle,” said Virpal who was testifying via Zoom on day one of judge-alone trial for Walid Wakeel.

The Nobleton man, who was 26 at the time, has pleaded not guilty to four counts including dangerous driving causing death and and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

On Oct. 21, 2018, Virpal and his new bride Anam Laiq, who was in the passenger seat, were hit, on Highway 50 and Castlemore Road. The following day, he testified, he and his 30-year-old wife were planning to leave on their honeymoon.

After the crash, Virpal testified he was panicking and screaming, but managed to find his phone.

“I turned the flashlight on. That’s when I realized she was not responding,” said Virpal who described blood coming from Laiq’s head and feeling like he couldn’t move from the waist down.

He said the windshield was shattered and people were trying to help. But when the ambulance arrived, they couldn’t get him out of the Honda Civic he was driving.

“They pulled me out of the car. I was at Sunnybrook hospital and after that I don’t remember anything,” said Virpal.

Laiq was pronounced dead at the scene.

Virpal testified that he wasn’t going over the speed limit, saying the roads were dry and clear. “The light at the intersection was green,” he told the court, remembering he saw no other colour on the traffic light as he entered the intersection.

He testified he spent about a month in hospital followed by another month at a rehabilitation hospital after breaking both legs.

“I had about five operations in total,” he said, adding that months later, he was still trying to take steps. He also broke his wrist and said after two years of physiotherapy, the funds stopped.

Another witness, Georgina Cocco testified she and her husband were driving along Highway 50 when they witnessed a white vehicle go through the intersection and hit another vehicle causing it to spin out. They approached the white vehicle and asked if anyone was hurt.

“A guy answered me back and said he was the only person in the vehicle,” said Cocco. She recalled he got out of the passenger side window and she asked him if he was okay. “He looked very shocked. He was pacing. I told him to take a seat. To calm down. He kept saying please don’t call 9-1-1.”

Cocco’s husband David Avila told Justice Irving Andre that he also spoke to the man who came out of the white car, whom he described as brown-skinned and wearing a black hoodie with blood on his teeth.
“He was pacing back and forth. I said, ‘Why don’t you take a seat?’ I said, ‘The cops are coming’. He said ‘No no. I got to call Abdul.”

Avila testified that three or four minutes later, someone pulled up to the Petro Canada and the man in the hoodie went to the truck. “Then he came back to the car, rifled through it, went back to the truck and left.” He called the truck drove off east down Rutherford Road.

Avila also told the court thought he could smell alcohol coming from the man’s mouth, though every time he spoke, he would pull the hoodie up over his mouth. When Crown prosecutor Carrie VanderBroek asked if he could identify the man from that night, he pointed at the accused sitting in the body of the courtroom behind his lawyer who was wearing a surgical mask.

Avila said he recognized his eyes and complexion.

During cross-examination, defence attorney Greg LaFontaine pointed to the back of the courtroom and asked Avila is he could agree that there were many men wearing masks who fit the same description.

The final witness of the day Gurdeep Kaurnen said she was sitting in her car at the light on Castlemore Road when a white car passed her and went through the red light, hitting another car. Her testimony continues.