There were tears of relief in a Richmond, B.C. courtroom on Wednesday as the wrong-way driver who caused a fatal crash in the George Massey Tunnel four years ago was sentenced.
Sundeep Singh Mann, 42, was sentenced to two years less a day after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm in the death of Ky Tran, 61, and serious injury to her husband.
“The judge, I think she actually understood and read through all the victim impact statements,” said Lisa Tran, the victim’s daughter.
“Our Canadian laws aren’t very good, and we just didn’t think she was going to give him that long. But she gave him what the Crown asked, and we are quite happy with it.”
Tran added that her father is still recovering from his injuries four years later.
In handing down the sentence, B.C. Provincial Court Judge Diana Vandor called the crash “horrible and heartbreaking,” noting Mann had six driving prohibitions on his record prior to the crash.
But she also concluded Mann was genuinely remorseful and horrified at what he had done.
The collision happened around midnight on Sept. 2, 2020.
The tunnel’s northbound lanes were closed for maintenance at the time, with traffic redirected to one lane in each direction in the southbound tube.
A digital speed reader captured Mann travelling at 109 km/h, nearly double the reduced speed 60 km/h limit, as he drove northbound through the tunnel.
Witnesses described him crossing the centre lane into southbound traffic as he attempted to pass other vehicles when he collided with Tran just outside the tunnel’s north end. The crash was so severe it closed the tunnel to traffic for seven hours, well into the morning commute.
A blood sample taken at the hospital later found alcohol in Mann’s system.
Tran’s sister Ut Yue said she was skeptical Mann was truly sorry for his actions.
“If he was remorseful, he would have quit drinking right after he killed my sister, but the fact that he kept drinking and only really started his sobriety in the last few months tells us as a family that I don’t think he’s sincere,” she said.
“Two years, he gets out, he gets to take care of his kids, see them, while she has missed out on all grandchildren’s big moments and the kids as well. I don’t think it’s just.”
Tran’s daughter agreed she would have liked to see a longer sentence.
But she said the family is happy the process is over.
“We will never forget her, we will always think about her, it’s just that we don’t have to worry about listening to what happened again, going through all of this again, it is just closure for us,” she said.
Mann was also slapped with a five-year driving ban that will take effect when his jail sentence concludes.
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