Surrey, B.C. – Two international students from India have been sentenced and taken into custody following a tragic hit-and-run incident that claimed the life of a 45-year-old man in Surrey earlier this year. The men, Gaganpreet Singh and Jagdeep Singh, both 22, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including failing to stop after an accident and interfering with a dead body.
The sentencing took place Wednesday in Surrey Provincial Court, where the pair were handcuffed and led away to begin serving their prison terms. Following the completion of their sentences, both men are expected to be deported from Canada.
The incident occurred in the early hours of January 27, 2024, near the intersection of University Drive and 104 Avenue. According to evidence presented in court, the victim—identified only as “J.G.” at the request of his family—was lying on the roadway when he was struck by a Ford Mustang driven by Gaganpreet Singh. The vehicle was registered to his passenger, Jagdeep Singh.
A nearby witness was on the phone with a 911 operator at the time of the collision. Audio played in court captured the witness’s horrified reaction: “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God,” they said, before telling the operator, “Someone just hit him; just ran him over.”
The court heard that J.G. was alive before being struck and that the injuries sustained in the crash were so severe his family was unable to view his body. In a heart-wrenching victim impact statement, J.G.’s widow expressed her grief and anger, saying, “They treated him like a piece of garbage, dumping him on the side of the road. The nature of how he died was so violent.”
Defence lawyer Gagan Nahal said his client, Gaganpreet Singh, is deeply remorseful and took full responsibility from the outset. “He didn’t deny or minimize his role in any of this. He entered a guilty plea at a very early stage, knowing he would be deported at the end of this sentence,” Nahal told reporters.
Both men offered apologies in court, with Gaganpreet Singh addressing the victim’s family through an interpreter.
J.G. leaves behind a grieving wife and children. The court proceedings have shed light on the devastating consequences of reckless actions and the irreversible harm caused to a family now left to mourn a beloved father and husband.