Driver fined $2,000 in fatal Abbotsford van crash

The driver of an overloaded van that crashed and killed three people in Abbotsford, B.C., last year pleaded guilty Thursday to two charges.

Harwinderpal Kaur Gill was sentenced to a $2,000 fine and prohibited fromdriving forone year. She pleadedguilty to driving without reasonable consideration for others using the highways, anddriving without being the holder of an appropriatelicence.

She and the owner of the van, RHA Enterprises Ltd.,had beenfacing eight charges under the Motor Vehicle Act, but the Crown dropped the remaining six charges. Police did not recommend criminal charges after their investigation.

Victims' relatives who were on handto hear the sentence said outside the court that they were outraged by what they consider thelack of severity of the sentence.

Jim Sinclair, president ofthe B.C. Federation of Labour, said the sentence does not reflect justice.

"It sends a clear signal that you can drive unsafe vans, you can drive them without a proper licence [and] you can overcrowd them. At the end of the day, nothing really of significance happens to you," Sinclair said.

The van was carrying 16 farm workers plus the driver, all women,when it crashed on Highway 1 in Abbotsford during the early hours of March 7, 2007. The van washeading east on Highway 1 toward Chilliwack.

Some of the workers in the van were ejected as it flipped onto the median. Three women Amarjit Kaur Bal, Sarabjit Kaur Sidhu and Sukhwinder Kaur Punia died and the rest were all injured.

A report by WorkSafeBC found there were only two seatbelts in the van, and the 15-passenger van was carrying 17 people at the time of the crash.

The report also said the driver of the van held a B.C. Class 5 driver's licence, but the Motor Vehicle Act requires a commercial Class 4 licence to operate a commercial vehicle transporting more than 10, but fewer than 25 workers.

Other factors contributing to the crash included poor visibility, wet road conditions and improperly inflated tires, the report said.