Delta police say a man has been charged in connection with the death of woman on a dark, rural road on the evening of Oct. 1, 2021.
Joan Sherry, 77, died at about 9:45 p.m. when her 2019 Nissan Sentra struck a BC Frozen Foods-owned combine in the area of Highway 17A and Ladner Trunk Road. It was operated by Jasdeep Singh Sandhu, Delta Police Department (DPD) records obtained by son Norm Sherry showed.
“Twenty-five-year-old Jasdeep Sandhu has been charged with dangerous operation of conveyance causing death,” the DPD confirmed to Glacier Media July 24. “As the matter is before the court, we cannot comment further.”
Those records obtained by son Norm Sherry said the combine should not have been on the road, and that its operators disobeyed at least two provincial regulations.
The records noted after the investigation was complete, criminal charges were not appropriate and no criminal charge recommendation was forwarded to Crown prosecutors.
At the time, DPD Insp. Heath Newton said the evidence collected in the investigation did not meet charge approval standards under the Criminal Code and that other enforcement action was taken.
He said enforcement action included an order for the vehicle to be inspected for safety defects and repairs before it could move again, a violation ticket to the driver for not having rear lights, a violation ticket for failing into display flags on an oversized vehicle and a violation ticket for failing to properly equip a vehicle.
Still, Norm Sherry pursued why that decision was made and what merits charges in such a case.
In a Jan. 24 statement to Glacier Media, Jassie Ram, corporate services manager in the office of the chief constable, said due to the concerns brought forward by the Sherry family, the DPD sought an independent review of the investigation.
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) traffic division conducted a review of the DPD investigation into this matter at the DPD’s request.
“The VPD review validated the investigative actions of the DPD investigation,” the statement said. “However, it was recommended that based on the evidence gathered that a report should be forwarded to Crown counsel for charge assessment.”
Sandhu is due to make his first appearance on the charge in Surrey Provincial Court Aug. 8, according to court records.
