A sixth person has died following the horrific crash that killed five members of one family in South Surrey last week.
Daniel Gore, 46, died Sunday shortly after 1 p.m., one week after the crash at 176 Street and 32 Avenue that claimed the lives of Surrey residents three-year-old Jessica Sachdeva, five-year-old brother Annish, aunt Neelam Dhingra, 47, grandmother Vidya Sachdeva, 68, and mother Pawandeep Arjot, 31.
Richard Fowler, lawyer for the Langley man’s family, told Peace Arch News Monday that Gore died after undergoing surgery for a “non-malignant brain tumour.”
Surrey RCMP Cpl. Bert Paquet said the condition was discovered in hospital, where Gore was initially listed in serious but stable condition following the April 28 crash.
Police had previously said indications were that a westbound van driven by a lone occupant had sped through a red light into the Sachdeva family’s sedan, and that charges were likely.
At the time of the collision, Gore was apparently en route to his job as a meat-cutter at a Thrifty Foods in South Surrey – a job he had started just a week prior. He was scheduled to start his shift “a short time after” the crash occurred, Paquet said.
Paquet told PAN it is believed Gore’s condition was pre-existing but officials are attempting to confirm whether it was a contributing factor to the crash.
He expects the investigation will take “at least several weeks,” but said it’s possible there will never be a definitive answer.
“With the tragic twist of events yesterday, it is a possibility we have to face,” he said. “Our investigators never spoke with him.
“We’re definitely dealing with a grey area right now that we hope our investigation will be able to answer.”
Fowler said from what he can gather, the tumour did play a role.
“His family is absolutely devastated by his passing and of course by the circumstances of the tragic accident, which by all accounts appears to have been the result of some underlying medical condition.
“We may never know for certain but people who know him well describe him as a careful driver. By all accounts (he) wasn’t late for work, he had breakfast with his son before driving to work that day.
“He had plenty of time to get to work. It would have been so out of the ordinary for him to be driving like that – speeding or going through a red light like that.”
Fowler said Gore was a father who had lots of friends.
“People described him as a very nice man, a careful driver and somebody who is going to be missed.”
Paquet said he is hopeful the investigation can bring the two families some closure.
– with files from Sarah Massah
