Surrey woman Rituraj Kaur Grewal, 26, has been found not guilty of criminal negligence causing death in the 2017 traffic crash that killed Surrey teenager Travis Selje.
Justice Jeanne Watchuk delivered her verdict Thursday afternoon. She found the Crown had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The charges alone do not reflect the enormity of this tragedy,” she said, launching into her 47-page reasons for decision. After discussing her reasons for decision for more than two hours, Watchuk told Grewal, “You are free to leave the courtroom.”
“After consideration of the evidence, the facts as found based on the totality of the evidence, the law and the application of the law to these facts, all as set out above, I therefore find you Ms. Grewal not guilty on counts one, two and three.”
The judge found Grewal to be “continuingly troubled” by the collision and “deeply remorseful for the death of Travis and the harm done by her driving.”
Grewal had been driving her father’s Cadillac at age 22 when it slammed into Selje’s Honda Prelude at high speed on May 3, 2017 at the intersection of 64th Avenue and 176th Street in Cloverdale. The 17-year-old boy died in hospital two days later.
Grewal testified she has no recollection of the crash and believes she had an epileptic seizure that caused the collision. Watchuk found her to be a “forthright” witness and “credible in her evidence, generally.
“I accept her evidence in its entirety,” the judge said. She concluded Grewal was not controlling the Cadillac as it accelerated and changed lanes prior to the fatal crash.
She accepted that Grewal’s driving was consistent with the medical evidence presented by the defence that she suffered from a progression of epileptic seizures “wherein there is an increasing loss of motor control.”
“On the totallity of the evidence that Ms. Grewal was having an epileptic seizure,” she said, “the Crown has not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that it was unreasonable for Ms. Grewal to be driving a car on May 3rd, 2017.”
An RCMP forensic expert testified during the trial, which was heard in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, that the Cadillac was doing 142 km/h in a 60 km/h zone just prior to hitting Selje’s car.
“Which is 100 per cent throttle,” the judge noted. There was no evidence the Cadillac had mechanically malfunctioned.
READ ALSO: Judge to deliver verdict in Travis Selje case on April 22
READ ALSO: Defence says evidence ‘compelling, overwhelming’ to acquit Surrey woman in deadly crash
The court also heard during the trial that Grewal crashed into another car but kept going until she hit Selje’s car further on down the road. For that she was also charged with failing to remain at the scene of a collision, as well as criminal negligence causing bodily harm in the case of another driver, Gary Mordecai. Watchuk also acquitted her on these charges.
Travis Selje
Selje’s death tore a hole in the community. The 1,095-seat Cloverdale Baptist Church was filled to capacity on May 17, 2017 as mourners celebrated the straight-A honour roll student’s life.
Selje’s father, Miki Selje, told the Now-Leader at the outset of the trial in February that there’s “no such thing” as closure.
“People always say, ‘Oh, you’re looking for closure.’ No. There’s no such thing as closure. It’s a wound that will never close, so there’s no closure,” he said.
“My soul is gone. I am no longer a whole person.”
Grewal testified during the trial that she has no criminal record.
According to court documents, however, Rituraj Kaur Grewal, age 26, has 10 traffic violations, nine of which were deemed by the courts to be “not disputed.”
Rituraj Kaur Grewal was ticketed on June 29, 2013 in Surrey for speeding and failing to display a new driver sign. On Sept. 3, 2013 she was ticketed for speeding in Vancouver, and found guilty. And on Nov. 3, 2015 she was ticketed in Surrey for failing to produce a drivers licence or insurance, and driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention.
On Nov. 19, 2015 she was ticketed in Surrey for “failing to yield after stop.” On Jan. 7, 2016 she was ticketed in Langley for failing to wear a seatbelt and on Nov. 19, 2016 she was ticketed in Langley for using an electronic device while driving.
On Dec. 16, 2016 she was ticketed for speeding, as well as driving without reasonable consideration.
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