Failed Surrey council contender gets jail time for drunken crash
A failed Surrey city council candidate has been sentenced to jail time for hitting a pedestrian while driving under the influence of alcohol two years ago.
Kuljinder Singh Gill, 31, pleaded guilty in October to causing an accident resulting in bodily harm while his blood alcohol was over the legal limit. Two other charges were stayed. He was sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court in Surrey in December.
Gill had been out for his birthday on July 17, 2010, and decided to drive his Mustang convertible home around 6 p.m. He headed east on 84th Avenue in Surrey and was about to turn left on to 128th Street when he lost control of his car and swerved, jumping the curb and hitting a bench.
Pardeep Johal, 29, was sitting on the bench when it was hit. He suffered a broken foot, a fractured pubic bone and needed 15 stitches in his head.
Blood-alcohol tests showed Gill had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his body.
In his reasons for sentence, Associate Chief Judge Gurmail Gill noted that the offender has a criminal record that includes mischief, uttering threats, assault and breach charges and “relates to a different phase of his life,” but also a relevant driving record.
The judge described the driving record, which ended in 2006, as revealing a pattern of “very, very bad driving” interspersed with a number of 24-hour suspensions.
“It seems to me that Mr. Gill was given every chance to reflect on his driving conduct and the risk that he was presenting to others while drinking and driving,” Gill wrote. “It appears that, at least at the time he was getting these 24-hour prohibitions, that drinking and driving was almost akin to a recreational activity for him.”
The judge sentenced Gill to nine months in jail, followed by 18 months of probation. He is also subject to a two-year driving prohibition.
Gill ran for Surrey council under the name “Gill 22” in the Nov. 19 election. He won 5,064 votes.
When his criminal record was published before voting day, Gill said it was in the past.
“Everybody makes mistakes. So yeah, I have made those mistakes,” he told the Surrey Now.
Gill said as soon as he got married and had a child, he “bounced back” from his negative lifestyle.