A Langley man has been found guilty of impaired driving causing bodily harm after a crash on 56th Avenue that left the victim with lasting injuries.
Harminder Singh Sakhon was convicted of three counts, including two related to impaired driving and a count of dangerous driving causing bodily harm, after a trial in Surrey Provincial Court that stretched over more than a year, beginning in November 2022.
Just after 4 p.m. on March 29, 2020, Sakhon, 33 at the time of the collision, drove a red Pontiac GTO eastbound down 56th Avenue from the Langley Bypass.
Based on surveillance video from a nearby self-storage business, Sakhon’s GTO was moving at a speed of between 110 and 116 km/h as it headed east towards the bridge over the Nicomekl River. The speed limit along that stretch of 56th Avenue is 50 km/h.
A Honda Civic, also moving at a high rate of speed, was in the right lane next to the GTO.
It appears that after crossing the bridge, where the road narrows, Sakhon swerved left into oncoming traffic. One car managed to get out of his way, but he collided head-on with a Honda Pilot minivan heading west, driven by a 63-year-old woman.
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The Pilot driver blacked out in the crash and did not remember what happened. She suffered a broken ankle that required surgery, as well as pain and bruises, and has been off work ever since as a result of ongoing pain in her leg and hips.
Provincial Court judge Justice Jay Solomon noted that the driver of the Honda Civic pulled over after the crash, but left again without speaking to anyone.
Blood samples taken after Sakhon was rushed to hospital were analyzed, and showed he had consumed the equivalent of six to 11 beers before getting into the car.
The crash left Sakhon with serious injures as well.
He suffered a broken nose and fractures to his rib, pelvis, leg, and ankle.
Sakhon pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
His lawyers argued that the crash was caused not by dangerous driving, but by him having to swerve to avoid a collision with the Honda Civic to his right, which was about to merge into the same lane as the GTO. Claiming there were no good options for Sakhon, the defence referred to it as a “real-life trolley problem.”
The defence also brought in an expert witness to attempt to contest whether the analysis of the alcohol content of the blood samples could be trusted.
Solomon did not find the defense arguments convincing.
“The accused’s behaviour in speeding and driving into an oncoming lane of travel on a clear afternoon on a well-used roadway, was objectively dangerous,” Solomon wrote in his decision. “The risk of a significant collision is foreseeable and steps could have been taken by the accused to avoid it, such as, slowing down considering the other vehicles on the roadway.”
He agreed that it was very likely that the Honda Civic’s driver was also behaving dangerously.
“However, that does not negate from the accused’s driving behaviour that also constitutes dangerous driving,” Solomon wrote.
The trial began on the week of Nov. 15, 2022, and continued with multiple breaks, with the court convening in January, March, October, and November of 2023 before concluding on Jan. 17 of this year with Solomon’s ruling.
The judge heard from numerous witnesses, including civilians who saw the GTO speed past, Langley RCMP officers and crash investigators, paramedics, and expert witnesses.
Solomon did not pass sentence on Sakhon during his guilty ruling. That will take place at a later court hearing.