Van in 3-death crash not roadworthy, inquest told

A van in which three farm workers died was in such poor condition that it should never have been on the road, according to testimony Tuesday at a coroner's inquest into a highway crash in Abbotsford, B.C.  

In addition to the fatalities, 14 people were injured when the van flipped and landed on its roof on a concrete median on the Trans-Canada Highway in March 2007.

"The conditions of this vehicle, combined with the qualification of this driver, led to an absolutely horrible tragedy," said Roberta Ellis, vice-president of investigations at WorkSafe BC.

A 2008 WorkSafe report said driver Harwinderpal Kaur 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.

Seventeen people were in the 10-passenger van at the time of the crash.

The inquest has heard that the van had only two seatblets, nails protruded from wooden benches used as seats, the tires were mismatched, had incorrect air pressure and two of the tires had little tread.

Van had just passed inspection

The inquest also heard that the van had passed a safety inspection by a mechanic at S&K Auto Body in Abbotsford one week prior to the crash.

Provincial motor vehicle inspector Neil Brown testified Tuesday that he examined the van after the accident and found 19 safety violations, including faulty brakes.

Brown said the vehicle should never have been on the road.

He told the inquest he challenged the mechanic who had passed the vehicle.

"I went through the defects line by line," said Brown, "and he basically denied those defects existed at the time of the inspection.

"His inspection could have been deception, incompetence or fraudulent. What he told me wasn't consistent with the facts," Brown said.

The inquest continues Wednesday.