Drunk driver who killed cycling couple, orphaned their infant daughter, sentenced to eight years

A Winnipeg man responsible for a drunk-driving crash that killed two cyclists last summer and left their infant child an orphan has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Kuldeep Singh Gill was arrested Sept. 13 after fleeing from a high-speed collision on Kenaston Boulevard that killed 31-year-old Egor Popov and his 25-year-old common-law partner Kerry Ashley Bonner.

Gill, 46, pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of impaired driving causing death and two counts of failing to stop at the scene of a collision.

Gill, who has a prior conviction for impaired driving, made a conscious decision to drive drunk, knowing it made him a danger on the road, provincial court Judge David Ireland said at a sentencing hearing Tuesday.

“His behaviour was morally repugnant.”

“His behaviour was morally repugnant,” Ireland said. “(Gill’s) driving record reflects someone who has flouted the law…. This was not an accident. A family has been destroyed and their child has been orphaned.”

Gill, who has permanent resident status in Canada, faces likely deportation upon completing his sentence, which was jointly recommended by lawyers for the Crown and defence.

According to an agreed statement of facts provided to court, Gill had consumed an “unknown amount” of alcohol while driving a Dodge Ram pickup truck along Kenaston Boulevard.

Witnesses had already called police to report the vehicle driving erratically when Gill veered around slower moving traffic and onto the paved shoulder at the intersection of Enterprise Drive.

Gill was still driving on the paved shoulder when he crashed into Bonner and Popov on their bicycles at approximately 9:15 p.m.

Popov was pronounced dead at the scene while Bonner died in hospital a short time later.

Truck driving 131 km/h at impact

Gill, who had abandoned his vehicle and ran away, was arrested shortly before 11 p.m. as he walked in the area of Kenaston Boulevard and Scurfield Boulevard.

Gill provided a breath sample and his blood-alcohol level was estimated to be as high as .137 at the time of the collision. Criminal charges are triggered for drivers with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher.

Police analyzed location data on Gill’s phone, which showed he had been in the vicinity of a Keewatin Street Liquor Mart earlier that afternoon. A review of security video at the store confirmed Gill had bought a bottle of 5-Star whisky at the store.

Police found a partially consumed bottle of the same whisky in the centre console of Gill’s truck.

An analysis of the truck’s crash data revealed Gill had been driving 131 km/h at the point of impact, 51 kilometres over the posted speed limit.

Lifetime prohibition from driving

In July 2016, Gill was driving a Jeep Wrangler at a high speed in a residential area when he drove onto a boulevard, struck a school zone sign and crashed into a tree before coming to a stop on a resident’s front lawn.

He tried to run away, but was followed by witnesses until police arrived and arrested him. He later pleaded guilty to driving over .08 and was fined $1,500 and prohibited from driving for one year.

In 2020, Gill was convicted of failing to comply with licence restrictions after driving without a licence and driving while suspended.

Ireland on Tuesday prohibited Gill from driving in Canada for life.

“He has not got the message in the past,” Ireland said. “The public deserves to be protected.”

Orphaned daughter in foster care

Popov’s death has been “soul crushing,” his sister Mariia Mirau wrote in a victim impact statement provided to court.

Popov — who immigrated to Canada from Kyrgyzstan — and Bonner were parents to a nine-month-old girl at the time of their deaths. The girl is now in foster care.

Popov’s mother, who lives in Montreal, quit her job following his death and has made repeated trips to Winnipeg seeking a court order granting her custody of his daughter.

“The loss of her son is extremely painful for her… even more so having to go through a custody battle for her granddaughter while grieving,” Mirau wrote.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca