A Tragedy Instead of a Celebration

“In my 26 years, this is one of the most horrific scenes I’ve ever seen,” says Surrey RCMP Sgt. Dale Carr, in response to a huge tragedy that took place in Surrey, British Columbia on April 28, 2013 at about 11 a.m. A Punjabi man named Gurmit Sachdeva, owner of Sachdeva Sweets & Restaurant (a restaurant on 7500 120 Street 118 in Surrey) was devastated to hear that his wife Reena, five-year-old son Aanish, three-year-old daughter Jessica, sister Neelam Dhingra, and his mother Vidya, were all killed in a brutal car accident, resulting in their Toyota being split in two and unrecognizable by police. The accident took place at a Surrey intersection, where the driver of a white Dodge Caravan ran a red light and violently smashed into the family vehicle, while they were returning from morning prayers at the temple, back home to celebrate the son’s fifth birthday. The encounter of the two vehicles was so strong that wreckage was spread over hundreds of meters. The only survivor of the incident is said to be the driver of the white Dodge Caravan. This whole incident left Gurmit in shambles, and he was forced to close his restaurant down until he feels able to work again. This incident even left ICBC Inspectors unable to comment on the crash’s cause.

I honestly do not know what to say about this. I can never picture something like that happening not only to me, but to anyone. This is said to be the worst accident in 20 years, and I realize why it is. I knew that there were a lot of pathetic drivers out there that don’t pay attention to rules, however, I feel that this driver just took it past the limit. How will that driver be able to live with themselves, knowing that they have killed somebody’s family? All because that driver was being arrogant and thought it was okay to speed through a red light. I wish I could say let this be a lesson to all other drivers who think it’s okay to disobey the rules, but I know that those people are not going to change. If they had changed, accidents like these would not occur on the roads or streets. One quote from Vancouver Sun, “It’s a big tragedy, one family is almost gone,” leaves me quite heartbroken and I think it is very unfair that that happened to an innocent family. But what made me disturbed was when I heard on the news that apparently due to the force and impact of the crash, the son was decapitated. How somebody can live knowing that they have decapitated a 5 year old's head, i do not know. All I know is, I feel great remorse for Mr. Sachdeva, and my heart goes out to him. It stated in the Vancouver Sun that no charges have been laid, but I know they will be laid and I hope the driver suffers greatly for their lack of responsibility, I would not call it a mistake because they knew what they were doing and they were aware of the consequences of speeding. I personally do not know how Mr. Sachdeva will cope with himself. If living without your loved ones is not bad, then I do not know what is.

The condition of the Dodge Caravan after the crash

The deceased victims: Reena Sachdeva, Aanish Sachdeva, Jessica Sachdeva, Neelam Dhingra, and Vidya Sachdeva

Article Sources:

- "Surrey dad 'in shock' after crash that killed five members of his family" by Jessica Barrett and Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun, April 30 2013

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Surrey+shock+after+crash+that+killed+five+members+family+with+video/8307090/story.html

- "‘Horrific’ Surrey crash kills 5 in mid-sized car so badly damaged that police can’t tell its make or model" by Iam Austine, The Province, April 28 2013

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Horrific+Surrey+crash+kills+sized+badly+damaged+that+police+tell+make+model/8307688/story.html

Photo Sources:
- http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1914&bih=974&q=sachdeva+accident&oq=sachdeva+accident&gs_l=img.3...1374.9464.0.9701.17.8.0.9.9.0.45.310.8.8.0...0.0...1ac.1.12.img.HRcRAmj6Oq8#imgrc=FGV_pMjOePra9M%3A%3BWtflthg-I4OF3M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fi.huffpost.com%252Fgen%252F1111756%252Fthumbs%252Fr-SURREY-CAR-CRASH-large570.jpg%253F15%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.huffingtonpost.ca%252F2013%252F05%252F01%252Fgurmit-sachdeva-surrey-car-crash_n_3193620.html%3B570%3B238

- http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1914&bih=974&q=sachdeva+accident&oq=sachdeva+accident&gs_l=img.3...1374.9464.0.9701.17.8.0.9.9.0.45.310.8.8.0...0.0...1ac.1.12.img.HRcRAmj6Oq8#imgrc=FNGwFhtlg5A9MM%3A%3BPR_1CMTB6zvm7M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fthelinkpaper.ca%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2013%252F05%252FIndo-family-dead-crash.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fthelinkpaper.ca%252F%253Fp%253D28812%3B620%3B348