Stunt driving charge laid in fatal crash

A 19-year-old man has been charged with stunt driving and criminal negligence causing death after a crash on Merivale Road that killed an Ottawa couple on Monday.

The victims, Brian and Dora Aspelund, were driving on Merivale between Colonnade Road and Viewmount Drive around 11:42 p.m. when their car was hit. Paramedics found the couple with critical injuries and in cardiac arrest. They launched “aggressive” efforts to save their lives, but both succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

The couple was devoted to their family, said Pina La Pegna, a former colleague of Brian Aspelund, 54, when he worked as a video editor at CJOH in the 1990s.

“He was a really gentle man, very easygoing, very friendly,” said La Pegna.

Brian Aspelund worked at Passport Canada, and Dora, 49, was a nurse at the The Ottawa Hospital General campus, she said.

The Aspelunds leave a daughter, Katelyn, and a son, Matthew.

Neighbours described an extremely friendly and helpful, yet quiet couple.

“They were great neighbours,” said Leon Ip, who moved into the Amberwood Crescent house next door to the Aspelunds two years ago.

“They would help people clear their driveways or cut the grass when someone was away. Brian was always outside, working on projects and taking care of his house. And I’d see Dora picking up the kids and dropping them off.

“They both had great senses of humour. But we just talked about the usual neighbourly stuff.”

On the opposite side of the Aspelunds, Lee Pritchard recalled the couple moving in a few years ago. “They kept to themselves,” he said.

“They were pretty quiet, and respectful. I think they were involved with the church or school — they used to get together with kids out front some Sunday afternoons, just mucking around.

“(Brian) was always doing something on his house — always. He was a handy guy. He’d seal the brick, seal the mortar. He’d paint. Redo the caulking.”

Pritchard said he initially thought that Brian’s penchant for home repair was simply the result of having just moved in, but eventually concluded that he was just that type of guy.

“He’d go back and redo it all. He was fixing his deck, taking his tree down, always looking after his lawn and property, that’s for sure.”

Another neighbour, Holly Borutskie, also recalled a cheerful handyman who often stopped to chat when they walked by. “He was always friendly and said hi, and always talked to the kids. But they kept to themselves, always did their thing.

“They were all smiley and chatty, but otherwise … I find that in the neighbourhood, everyone is always busy, and in the winter we don’t see each other.”

Sishun Liang, 19, of Ottawa faces two counts of criminal negligence causing death. He is also charged with careless driving and stunt driving under the Highway Traffic Act. He was to appear in court Thursday.

Police said Liang was assessed by paramedics but refused to be taken to the hospital.