Passenger involved in fatal 401 crash faces robbery charges

The passenger who was riding in a cargo van involved in a deadly wrong-way crash on Highway 401 east of Toronto last month has been charged in connection with a robbery linked to the incident, according to court documents.

Newly-obtained Oshawa court records show Manpreet Gill is facing 12 criminal charges stemming from the day of the crash, including one count of allegedly robbing an LCBO. He has not been charged in relation to the collision, which killed four people, including an infant, and came after a high-speed police chase through Durham region.

Gill, 38, was previously identified as the sole passenger in the U-Haul van that crashed on Highway 401 in Whitby, Ont. on April 29, following a reported LCBO robbery in Bowmanville, in the regional municipality of Clarington. The vehicle was seen weaving through traffic in the opposite direction, while pursued by at least 20 police vehicles on either side of the highway.

The ensuing multi-vehicle collision killed three-month old Aditya Vivaan from Ajax, and his grandparents, Manivannan Srinivasapillai and Mahalakshmi Ananthakrishnan, who were visiting from India. The van's driver, Gagandeep Singh, also died.

Gill was hospitalized with serious injuries after the crash. His current condition is not known.

The new charge sheet, obtained at an Oshawa courthouse on Friday, reveals for the first time that police allege Gill played a role in the cascade of events leading up to the crash.

A Durham police spokesperson declined to comment on the charges, citing the ongoing Special Investigations Unit (SIU) probe. The SIU also declined to comment.

Gill was due to appear via video link for a bail hearing at the Ontario Court of Justice in Oshawa on Thursday morning, but court records show he did not attend.

The new charges include one count of robbery from the Clarington liquor store and another count of possession of stolen LCBO merchandise worth up to $5,000. Gill is also facing further charges of breach of probation.

Durham Regional Police also allege in the court records that Gill stole merchandise worth up to $5,000 from a Canadian Tire in Clarington on April 26.

The SIU previously said the sequence of events began when Durham police "became aware of a robbery at an LCBO in Clarington."

Ontario Provincial Police radio communications that evening, which were shared online, suggested a suspect had "tried to rob the store [and] pulled a knife on an off-duty officer."

When asked by a CBC News reporter last week, Durham Regional Police Chief Peter Moreira declined to explain what happened at the Clarington LCBO.

"In my mind, those events are not separated," he said, referring to the robbery, followed by the chase and crash. "I'm going to let the SIU complete their investigation."