Gurbinder Aujla, a Surrey father of four children, was paralyzed by a drunk driver in a January 2015 crash, for which the drunk driver Christopher Malloy, who pleaded guilty, had his sentencing hearing held this week. Aujla, who now uses a wheelchair, delivered an emotional victim impact statement in court about how the crash has changed his life. He said he’s accepted that he will never walk again, but he struggles with the knowledge that he can’t be the dad he once was. “That’s when I get really emotional, when I see how it affects my kids,” he said.
SURREY – Gurbinder Aujla, a Surrey father of four children, was paralyzed by a drunk driver in a January 2015 crash, for which the drunk driver Christopher Malloy, who pleaded guilty, had his sentencing hearing held this week.
Malloy, 52, appeared in court on Wednesday, had a history of roadside driving prohibitions and was 3-5 times over blood-alcohol limit at the time of the crash yet the Crown is only seeking 12-18 month sentence for Malloy, which Aujla, who will never be able to walk again, thinks is a mere slap on the wrist.
“If he was really sorry, he could’ve at least turned around and looked at us,” said Aujla outside the courtroom after the proceeding was over. “What does a person have to do to get 10 years?”
The court heard several victim impact statements from Aujla, his family and their supporters describing the financial and emotional devastation the incident has caused them.
Aujla, a former longshoreman and the family’s sole bread-winner, didn’t accept Malloy’s offered apology for ruining his life.
Malloy pleaded guilty to three counts of impaired driving causing bodily injury and one count of failing to remain at the accident scene in connection with a crash in January 2015.
But the court heard that the horrific crash was not the first blemish on Malloy’s driving record. Malloy had six 24-hour driving prohibitions on his record before his SUV slammed into another vehicle, pinning a father and son inside.
“I was shocked, absolutely shocked,” said Bob Rorison, Mothers Against Drunk Driving’s Metro Vancouver president.
“You could see with that 26-year history that it was only a matter of time that he’s going to devastate some family, and he did that.”
At the sentencing, the Crown said it is estimated that Malloy was driving at a speed between 140 km/h and 152 km/h, in an area with a speed limit of only 60 km/h. The Crown also revealed that tests showed Malloy’s blood-alcohol level was between three and five times higher than the legal limit at the time.
Malloy not only ruined Aujla’s life but yelled racist obscenities at those who stopped to help.
Crown Counsel Kim Wendel told the court two passing Good Samaritans who stopped to assist said they were called “Pakis” and “terrorists” by Malloy, who escaped without any major injuries but had to be cut out of his vehicle by firefighters after it ended up in the ditch. Firefighters who responded to the scene described Malloy’s behaviour as “aggressive” and “combative,” crown said.
Aujla, who now uses a wheelchair, delivered an emotional victim impact statement in court about how the crash has changed his life.
He said he’s accepted that he will never walk again, but he struggles with the knowledge that he can’t be the dad he once was.
“That’s when I get really emotional, when I see how it affects my kids,” he told CTV News.
His wife, Amy, said it’s “devastating” that Malloy drank so much, but still decided to drive.
Speaking outside the courthouse, Aujla said he was frustrated that Malloy had been allowed on the road at all at the time of the crash.
“With all those 24-hour (prohibitions), somebody should have taken his licence away a long time ago,” he said.
Judge Sudeyko is scheduled to deliver a sentence Oct. 26.
