In the case of a double-fatal accident, there are deadlines, the judge said

A Crown prosecutor warned a British Columbia Supreme Court judge on May 8 that a case involving a fatal car crash could peak in 2021 and be dealt with out of court.

Two Surrey men were killed in an accident on Cypress Bowl Road early September 2, 2021. One was celebrating his birthday.

According to West Vancouver police, a group of people in three different vehicles were out celebrating around 4 a.m. when the driver of a Jeep crashed while entering the hairpin curve directly above the West Vancouver factory yard.

The Crown initially swore Dilpreet Singh Sandhu on two counts of criminal negligence causing death.

Since Sandhu’s appearance before BC Supreme Court Justice Catherine Murray on May 8, the charges now include: negligent driving causing death, driving to endanger bodily harm, driving with a blood alcohol level above 0.08, dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving to Mayhem .

Prosecutor Jason Krupa told Judge Murray the Crown was ready to proceed with the trial, but said the defense needed more time to seek instructions from Sandhu.

The pressure on the case comes from the so-called Jordan caps set for cases before the Supreme Court of Canada. The Jordan Principles originate from a case that ended up in the Supreme Court of Canada.

According to Jordan, stays of proceedings are possible if a case reaches a cap of 18 months for those heard in the provincial court and 30 months for cases in higher courts.

“Jordan is pressed for time,” Krupa told Murray. “Crown is ready to go.”

The case will go back to court on May 22 to determine a next date.

With files from Brent Richter