Canadian Sikh driver surrenders in 2021 fatal car crash case

TORONTO: A 27-year-old Sikh driver has surrendered himself to police more than two years after a car crash in Canada's Ontario province left a 21-year-old woman dead.

Harkamalpreet Singh, who turned himself in earlier this month, is scheduled to make his first appearance at a Brampton court on February 23.

He has been charged with dangerous operation causing death, flight from a peace officer, and failure to stop at an accident, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said in a release.

The collision took place just before 3 a.m. on November 5, 2021, after a Mississauga OPP officer tried to stop a black vehicle that appeared to be driving erratically near Highway 410 and Sandalwood Parkway in Brampton.

Police said the vehicle then fled before colliding with a red vehicle at the intersection of Sandalwood and Dixie Road.

While Shellome Peart, the driver of the red vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene, her 25-year-old co-passenger was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The collision was also investigated by the province’s police watchdog, looking into the conduct of the officer who attempted the traffic stop, according to a CP24 news report.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) found that the OPP officer briefly sped after the black vehicle before discontinuing the pursuit.

SIU Director Joseph Martino concluded on March 4, 2022, that there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the officer committed a criminal offence in the collision.