2 weeks Ago By Susan Lazaruk
Article content A West Vancouver driver apologized in court Monday for killing two people, saying she accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the brake to avoid hitting a pedestrian. Two of the seven people she injured when she crashed into a wedding party spoke at a court hearing for the first time about the horrors of the crash. The driver, Hong Xu, 66, spoke in Mandarin through an interpreter and didn’t face the room that was packed with victims’ families and friends.
“I am abjectly sorry for the consequences caused by this accident,” she said, reading from a paper. “I am utterly heartbroken for the misery that was caused to every one of you. From the bottom of my heart, I express my deepest apologies to the victims and their families.
” The family of one of the dead, Annie Kong, 67, said Xu’s apology and the maximum fine of $2,000 for driving without due care and attention, the Motor Vehicle Act offence she pleaded guilty to, didn’t provide justice for their loss. “Honestly, I feel a little bit insulted, outraged, like the legal system has let us down,” said Kong’s daughter, Joanna Moy, outside court. “How is that (hitting the wrong pedal) not deemed careless and worthy of a criminal charge? “It’s extremely disappointing for our family,” she said, as her brother Nigel Kong, holding a framed photograph of Annie, stood next to their father, Liong Kong.
They were among the 10 people who read victim impact statements to the court, including a young mother whose pelvis was fractured and her arm gashed when she was hit while holding her infant son. Melanie Yeung, whose parents owned the wedding-party house, spent more than two weeks in hospital. Her baby, whose first birthday was the next day, had minor injuries and was released from hospital a day later.
The crash happened on Aug. 20, 2022, while guests at the outdoor event were enjoying cocktails. Xu, the next-door neighbour, inadvertently hit the gas pedal of her Range Rover SUV and drove more than 15 metres, crashing the vehicle into the yard next door and pinning Lieu Nguyen, 62, against a water fountain, killing her.
A flying cement boulder fatally struck Annie Kong in the back of the head. Nguyen was the aunt of the bride, Nancy Nguyen. Nancy wept silently for several minutes before she read her victim impact statement, saying she wasn’t physically injured, but blamed the crash for her divorce.
“Our marriage didn’t have a chance to begin because of this accident,” she said. “Our wedding anniversary is now a death anniversary. “You can’t help but feel intense guilt and responsibility for what happened that day,” she told court.
Her sister, Susan Nguyen, said in her statement that her then-four-year-old daughter had been dancing with Lieu Nguyen before the crash. “I live with the haunting memory of watching my own daughter escape death. The memory of watching her run for her life with a vehicle bearing down on her is seared in my mind.
” Another guest injured that day was William York, who read his impact statement by video link and said that he was still dealing with the physical effects of the injury to his wrist. Prosecutor Kevin Masse said that among aggravating factors that contributed to his recommendation of the $2,000 maximum fine and a five-year driving ban is that Xu has several driving offences, including for speeding, failure to obey traffic signs and distracted driving. The judge is to impose a sentence on Tuesday.
Defence lawyer Ian Donaldson told court it was a “modest” record and said outside court there were about a dozen offences, including three for speeding, over her 25 years of driving in Canada. “That’s only one every two years.” Masse also said there is an “important distinction” between a criminal charge under which a person is charged with causing the death of others and the driving without due care and attention offence that Xu pleaded guilty to.
The case is about her “inadvertently pressing down on the accelerator,” not about causing the death and injuries of others, Masse said. For mitigating factors, court heard she pleaded guilty to the offence and has already voluntarily stopped driving. Those who addressed the court also mentioned the financial loss they suffered by having to take time off from work, and pay for physiotherapy, psychologist appointments and other treatments because ICBC caps treatment costs most local practitioners charge more than the cap.
“Dealing with ICBC was one of the biggest stressors during recovery,” said Young. The Kongs and others have said they can’t sue Xu for loss and damages because it’s not allowed under B.C.
’s no-fault insurance scheme unless the offending driver is convicted of a criminal offence. Liong Kong submitted a request for $55,000 in retribution, mostly for legal fees he paid for probate of his late wife’s will, but the prosecutor said it’s not clear if it would be lawfully within the court’s power to grant it. During his statement, Annie’s son, Nigel, looked in the direction of Xu, whom he couldn’t see because she sat behind her lawyer, and said: “I wish that you could carry every grief and misery that we have felt.
” Donaldson, in his short submission to court, said Xu’s driving wasn’t “careless,” it was an accident, an inadvertent hitting of the wrong pedal. “There will be people who ask, ‘Where’s justice in all of this?’” but the court’s role in this case isn’t to make reparation to the victims or their families. “It is impossible for the court to do justice in these circumstances,” he said during an address in which he faced the public gallery and apologized on Xu’s behalf.
He said her actions lack the intent to cause what happened, necessary for a criminal charge, because it was accidental..
