Driver blames ex-RCMP van in 3-death crash

The driver of a van involved in a crash that killed three farm workers nearly three years ago on the Trans-Canada Highway near Abbotsford, B.C., pointed a finger at the RCMP on Monday when she explained the condition of the vehicle.

Harwinderpal Kaur Gill — testifying through a Punjabi interpreter — told a coroner's inquest that the large van had been purchased from the Alberta RCMP, who had used it to transport prisoners. Gill said it was equipped with only two seatbelts when it was bought.

An RCMP spokesman later confirmed the multi-passenger van was delivered with just two seatbelts and was used that way by the police force.

Const. Vince Chand, who investigated the crash, told CBC News that the Alberta RCMP took the seatbelts out to prevent prisoners assaulting each other with the belts.

Gill also told the inquest that her mechanic told her she did not need the seatbelts because the van was being used as a bus.

The 10-passenger van was carrying 17 people, some sitting on wooden benches that had been used to replace seats.

Three women died — Amarjit Kaur Bal, Sarabjit Kaur Sidhu and Sukhwinder Kaur Punia — and 14 other people were injured when the van flipped and crashed into concrete dividers in the centre of the highway on March 7, 2007.

Most of the victims, whose ages ranged from the teens to over 50, were Indo-Canadian immigrants employed by a labour contractor on a casual basis to work on various Fraser Valley farms.

A WorkSafeBC report released in 2008 documented a wide range of problems, including passenger overloading, poor tire maintenance, a lack of seatbelts, inadequate driver qualification, road conditions and vehicle instability, which all contributed to the crash.

Driver fined for violations

The report also said Gill 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.

Gill pleaded guilty last year to driving without due consideration and driving without a proper licence. She was fined $2,000 and banned from driving for a year.

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

The crash prompted the provincial government to resume random safety checks of vehicles carrying farm workers. Such checks had been cancelled in 2001.