Civil legal action could be in the cards over the death of a College of New Caledonia student who was struck and killed by an allegedly drunk driver on Highway 97.
Local resident T.J. Grewal said this week he has been granted special power of attorney to sue CNC, as well as the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, the City of Prince George and Michelle Denise Dac, the driver accused of striking Sandeep Kaur on June 6.
Kaur, an international student who had been attending CNC for two months, was pronounced dead at the scene and Dac has been charged with one count each of impaired driving causing death and causing an accident resulting in death, both under the Criminal Code.
Grewal said a lawsuit could be filed as soon as this week although nothing appeared on court records as of Friday.
He noted there was once a bus stop where Kaur is believed to have been crossing the highway when she was hit but when the stop was removed, a walkway from a doorway at CNC to the spot was left in place. Moreover, Grewal alleged, CNC failed to restrict the doorway to use as an emergency exit and so students continued to use it as a spot to cross the highway.
Since removed, the walkway was about 250 metres north of a traffic light with pedestrian crossing at Highway 97 and 22nd Avenue.
Grewal had also launched a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of the family that raised $40,807. It had raised $30,000 within about a day and the goal was subsequently increased to $50,000.
But Grewal said he shut it down after receiving assurance that Kaur's family will also receive up to $50,000 through the life insurance she had purchased upon coming to CNC. The policy will also cover up to $15,000 for transport of her body back to India.
The funding from the GoFundMe campaign has since been forwarded to the family and will help them pay back the money they borrowed to send Kaur to CNC and possibly cover the cost of sending her brother and sister to Canada to get an education.
Grewal called the response to the campaign "unbelievable."
"I just can't thank the people enough in how they responded," he said. "I've never seen something like this. Most of them were people from Prince George who came together."
He said there is a chance the father will be in Prince George as the matter winds its way through the courts.
