Van passenger in deadly Highway 401 wrong-way crash near Toronto denied bail

Manpreet Gill, the sole passenger in acargo van involved in a high-speed police chase that ended in a deadly wrong-way crash on Highway 401 east of Toronto in April, has been denied bail and will remain in custody.

Gill, 38, appeared in an Oshawa, Ont., courtroom by video link for the second straight day on Friday from Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton.

Justice of the peace Andrea Racine read her decision late Friday afternoon. Her reasons for denying bail are covered by a publication ban.

Gill is charged in connection with the a liquorstore robbery inClaringtonthat Durham Regional Police said led to the pursuit on April 29.

A cousin who had travelled from British Columbia to act as a surety last week told CBC News that Gill had no recollection of the incident. He said Gill couldn't remember whether he was seated on the passengerside or in the back of the U-Haul van during the cascade of events that ended in four deaths, including an infant.

The accused, who suffered serious injuries in the collision and was only recently released from hospital, wore orange jail garb and used a wheelchair. He followed court proceedings through a Punjabi interpreter.

The Special Investigations Unit Ontario's civilian police oversight agency thatinvestigates the conduct of police officers in incidents that may haveresulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault or the discharge of a firearmis probing two officers' involvement in the pursuit and crash. The six-vehicle collision in Whitby killed three-month-old Aditya Vivaan and his paternal grandparents.

The 21-year-old driver of the cargo van was also killed in the fiery pileup.

Gill, who is listed in court documents as having no fixed address, is not charged in connection with the deaths or the attempt to flee police.

WATCH | Passenger charged afterfatal wrong-way crash on Highway 401:

Passenger in deadly wrong-way Highway 401 crash charged

4 months ago

Duration 2:40

A passenger involved in a fatal crash on Ontario's Highway 401 last month is facing a number of criminal charges over the events that led up to the crash. Manpreet Gill is accused of robbing a liquor store shortly before being pursued by police in a high-speed chase going the wrong way down the busy highway.

Public records show he faces 12 charges stemming from that day, including counts related to the LCBO store robbery and multiple breaches of probation. He's also charged with stealing merchandise from a Canadian Tire store in Clarington three days earlier.

Separately, Gill had been barred from an LCBO outlet in Vaughan after facing charges in February related to thetheft of merchandise from the store. Court documents show Gill was also charged in July 2022 with possession of a vehicle obtained by crime in Mississauga.

Durham police last month published a brief timeline of the deadly sequence of events on April 29.

Police said a suspect pulled a knife on an off-duty officer "who had intervened to prevent the theft" at the Clarington liquor store. Officers said they later lost sight of the suspect after he sped away in a white van.

According to police, minutes later, the U-Haul "struck a cruiser" before entering the busy eastbound Highway 401 travelling in the opposite direction of traffic.

Manivannan Srinivasapillai, 60, and Mahalakshmi Ananthakrishnan, 55, were visiting from Chennai, India, when they were killed in the ensuing crash, along with their infant grandson. The boy's parents were injured.

In amateur videos reviewed by CBCNews, 20 police vehicles could be seen pursuing the cargo van on either side of the highway. At least seven gave chase travelling in the opposite direction oftraffic.

Gill is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 15.