A 25-year-old man has been charged in connection to an unoccupied cargo van that killed a mom walking with her kids nearly three years ago in Surrey.
Jeo Kurian has been charged with one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, police say.
Paramjit Kaur Masutta, 47, was walking her children home from school on Dec.15, 2020, when the van rolled into traffic, struck another vehicle, then hit her while she was on a sidewalk near 144 Street and 61A Avenue.
Sgt. Tom Boyce, with the RCMP’s criminal collision investigation team, says in a statement the woman’s death was a devastating loss for her family, and has also impacted many people within the community.
Police said at the time of the crash that the driver responsible for the unoccupied vehicle was distraught about what happened and co-operated with police.
The driver had been delivering parcels for Amazon. The company said in a statement issued then that it was working with police and its delivery-service partner as they investigated.
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The victim’s husband, mechanic Daljit Singh Masutta, filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of B.C. on March 7, 2022, against Kurian, delivery service Damy Logistics Ltd., Foss National Leasing and Amazon Canada. Daljit’s two daughters, Supreet and Manpreet, are also listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Kurian’s first court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 31.
– With files from Tom Zytaruk, Canadian Press
