A Richmond Hill man has been charged with impaired driving causing death in connection with a crash in Oshawa that claimed the life of his wife, and left his daughter with serious injuries.
The three-vehicle collision occurred near Raglan Road and Thornton Road at around 10:20 p.m. on Saturday night.
Police say a grey SUV was travelling westbound on Ragland Road when it crossed a median and sideswiped a Toyota Corolla, which spun into the path of a Jeep Cherokee.
A 42-year-old woman, identified by friends and family as Angie, was rushed to hospital without vital signs but later died from her injuries. The woman’s three-year-old daughter suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to The Hospital for Sick Children. Family members have confirmed that the child is now in stable condition.
Both victims were passengers of the SUV.
The 42-year-old driver of the SUV, who was previously identified by police as Kin Lai, was arrested at the scene.
Lai is the husband and father of the victims.
A witness told CTV News Toronto earlier that, after the collision, he kept screaming his wife’s name trying to get her attention.
Relatives say the couple met in Hong Kong and came to Canada to raise their daughter.
“The little girl is very active, very polite,” one neighbour names Isabella told CTV News Toronto.
Police say that Lai was a novice driver.
“He’s not allowed to have alcohol in his blood stream at all, and obviously we did charge him with impaired driving,” Durham police spokesperson Dave Selby said.
On Monday, police confirmed that he is now facing a number of charges including impaired operation of a motor-vehicle causing death, impaired operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm, and being a novice driver with a blood alcohol level above zero.
He appeared in court briefly, where the case was put over.
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
