Driver pleads guilty to crash that killed 2 UBC students on campus

UBC students Evan Smith and Emily Selwood were both struck and killed while walking on campus on Sept. 26, 2021. They were both 18 years old. (Handout)

The driver charged with striking and killing two students on the UBC campus in 2021 has pleaded guilty and is set to be sentenced.

Tim Carl Robert Goerner entered guilty pleas to two counts of dangerous driving causing death on Oct. 16, according to the BC Prosecution Service. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 6. Goerner was originally charged with an additional two counts of impaired driving and two counts of impaired driving causing death. A spokesperson for the BC Prosecution Service says it is "anticipated" that those four charges will be stayed after the sentencing hearing.

The two victims were identified by police as Evan Smith and Emily Selwood, both were 18 and students at the university when they were killed while walking on a sidewalk on Northwest Marine Drive on the morning of Sept. 26, 2021.

The grieving parents of both victims issued statements last year when police announced Goerner had been charged in connection with their deaths.

The pair were described and compassionate young adults who enjoyed camping and being in the great outdoors.

Smith was a talented drummer and a volunteer for Scouts Canada before getting accepted into UBC's engineering program, according to his parents, Debbie O'Day-Smith and Adam Smith.

"As we navigate our lives through our grief, we want Evan to be remembered for the remarkable person he was. Those that knew and loved him no doubt already do that," they wrote.

"He was a loyal friend and a wonderful son and brother. His positive attitude, playful competitiveness and humble disposition left a mark on everyone he came across. We couldn’t be more proud of the young man he became."

Selwood grew up on Vancouver Island, where she was a medal-winning rower in high school before she decided to study social sciences at UBC, her parents Laurie and Duncan Selwood said.

She also had "great capacity for compassion and exemplified kindness," they said.

"Her dedication to service and commitment to helping others led her to work on numerous initiatives, through her school, to help those in need and protect the environment. In everything she did, Emily worked hard to embody her favourite quote by Ian Maclaren: be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle," the Selwoods wrote.

The family also set up a UBC memorial fund in her name, the proceeds from which will help undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts.

After issuing their statements, both sets of parents asked for privacy.