Driver in Calgary hit-and-run sentenced to jail, handed driving prohibition

CFCN20092025_HITRUN.sub.01

A man who pleaded guilty to his role in a hit-and-run crash almost three years ago has been sentenced by a Calgary judge.

Sukhnoor Gill was behind the wheel of a black 2010 Audi S4 on Oct. 26, 2022, when he hit a 14-year-old pedestrian who was crossing First Street at 11th Avenue N.W., near Crescent Heights School.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Justice G.D.M. Stirling of the Alberta Court of Justice said the victim, identified by the court as S.C., “was clearly visible in the middle of the street when the accused accelerated the Audi.”

He said Gill, even though the unmarked speed limit on First Street N.W. was 40 km/h, sped up to at least 57 km/h before he hit S.C.

“After travelling approximately 25.5 metres from where he was originally struck, S.C. fell to the road surface and came to rest having suffered serious, life-threatening injuries,” Stirling wrote.

After hitting S.C., Gill left the scene of the crash without stopping or rendering any assistance to the victim, Stirling said.

Repaired windshield after crash

The windshield of Gill’s vehicle was smashed in the collision, Stirling said, and steps were taken to hide that damage.

Following the crash, the accused took the vehicle to Kambo Glass Works in Calgary to have the windshield replaced, paying for the service in cash.

However, police linked the vehicle to the incident by matching wreckage collected at the scene to Gill’s Audi.

He was later arrested and charged with failing to stop after a crash and dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

At the sentencing hearing on Sept. 18, the Crown sought a 15-month jail sentence followed by two years’ probation and a three-year driving prohibition.

The defendant believed a conditional sentence of two years’ less one day and two years probation was a fit sentence.

Stirling gave Gill a sentence of six months in jail, followed by a 15-month conditional sentence, followed by a year of probation.

He based that sentence on the trauma inflicted on the young victim, S.C.

“Mr. Gill proceeded at a high rate of speed directly down a street with pedestrians on it. There were no conditions which affected his ability to see those pedestrians. S.C. was in the middle of the street when the accused struck him at full speed with no attempt to brake,” Stirling wrote.

“S.C. suffered numerous serious injuries. He continues to have difficulties getting in and out of bed or chairs. He cannot jump or participate in sports. He remains anxious and afraid of going to school and going out in public. The profound effects on S.C. are aggravating.”

Stirling added that while Gill doesn’t have a criminal record, he did have three previous driving infractions within four months of the crash.

He also said the steps Gill took after the crash were “offensive to a civil society.”

“The conduct of not returning to the accident might be explained by momentary panic and indecision about what to do, and I give some weight to this justification,” Stirling wrote.

“Youthful panic, however, does not fully explain the later steps of parking the vehicle in a public lot, replacing the windshield the next day while avoiding providing information that might identify himself and then abandoning the car in a public lot away from his home.

“No doubt, Mr. Gill was still panicked about being discovered, but these steps are evidence of a more deliberate scheme to avoid detection and cannot be attributed to a moment of transitory panic.”

Gill was also given a three-year driving prohibition.