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Almost five years ago, a car speeding in the wrong direction on Highway 1 in B.C.’s Fraser Valley crashed into another vehicle while being pursued by police.
Now, a B.C. Coroners Service inquest is reviewing the circumstances that lead to the deaths of 35-year-old Gabriel Johnson Choi, 29-year-old Hasan Khaled Ayyad and 43-year-old Allison Dawn Gilchrist.
In the early hours of Dec. 29, 2020, a vehicle was driving the wrong way in the eastbound lane on Highway 1 between Chilliwack and Hope — around 120 kilometres east of Vancouver — well above the speed limit.
An RCMP officer saw the car pass and pursued the vehicle just after 4 a.m. PT.
Several minutes later, there was a head-on collision between the vehicle being chased and another car, according to a 2022 report from the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.
Two people died in the crash, according to the report, while a third person later died in hospital.
The coroners service confirmed Ayyad was driving the vehicle in the wrong direction, with Gilchrist as his passenger.
He crashed into Choi, who was transported to hospital and later died.
The IIO cleared the officer who was pursuing the car in the wrong direction.
Nearly five years later, a coroner’s inquest jury will look into the circumstances of the case and make recommendations to prevent deaths in similar circumstances.
Coroner’s juries do not assign fault, and their recommendations are not legally binding.
Family members reflect
The inquest on Monday morning began with family members reflecting on their loved ones.
Stormie Choi shared fond memories of her younger brother Gabriel, a federal corrections officer who was on the emergency response team.
Choi said that long before adulthood, Gabriel was “creative, talented and bright” as a gifted hip-hop artist who loved to breakdance.
“He was one of the funniest people I knew,” she said, joining the inquest via video call.
She said her brother, one of four siblings, was her best friend.
“His laughter, and his larger than life spirit, is a loss our family feels deeply,” said Choi. “We will miss him for the rest of our lives.”
Barbara Empson, the mother of Gilchrist, remembered her daughter’s friendliness and “radiating smile.”
She said Gilchrist experienced significant challenges related to mental health. Those struggles made it increasingly difficult to communicate with loved ones over time.
“Her life with its beautiful moments and difficult chapters, left a lasting impact on those who knew her,” said Empson.
Watch commander testifies
Now-retired RCMP Staff Sgt. Philip Neetz, who was on duty as a watch commander at the time, recalled the police response during the incident.
Part of his testimony included discussing risk assessments and Section 122 of the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act, in which emergency vehicles can be exempt from some rules when engaging in their duties.
The retired watch commander said a spike belt was deployed to try and help halt the speeding vehicle, but Ayyad went around it.
Neetz had given an order for the responding officer to stop the pursuit — partly worried about the increased risk of getting closer to city limits.
He said after a few moments passed, a dispatcher said the order came over “faint” on the radio.
Neetz added that he remains perplexed to this day as to why his order didn’t go through, and the pursuit continued.
“I don’t know why it came through faint, I don’t understand that,” said Neetz, who said at the time that he questioned if there was a problem with his radio.
The former watch commander added that, that in a fast-moving situation, radio chatter could become overwhelming for an officer involved in a pursuit.
The inquest will continue until Dec. 19.
