Filling the front row of courtroom 107, Adele Dean, holding her five-month-old baby girl alongside Tom and Lianne Dean, waited patiently for justice to commence and, ultimately, be served.
Within a few minutes, lawyer Kevin Filkow, whose firm specializes in defending people accused of driving offences, appeared to represent Michael Wing Sing Fan, who’s charged with driving with undue care and attention.
Less than a minute later, a new court date in January had been set for Fan, who didn’t make an appearance and was represented only by his lawyer.
The family and close friends of Brad Dean – who was killed just over a year ago on River Road in east Richmond after Fan’s car allegedly smashed head-on into 33-year-old Dean’s cycling group – had waited 13 months for Fan to appear in court and it was over in 60 seconds.
“It is what we thought would happen and we know it is what could very well happen again in January. That is the process I guess,” said Brad’s father, Tom, outside the Richmond Provincial Court room, which was also packed with close family and friends of Brad, some of whom were part of the cycling group on that fateful Sunday in November, 2016.
“Crown (counsel) told us afterwards that Fan could plead guilty in January or he may not. Our view hasn’t changed, however.
“We are still shocked that the Crown didn’t follow the police recommendation for criminal proceedings.
“This could actually go all the way through the process and (Fan) may never actually appear, because it’s only a driving offence. It’s a disgrace.”
After Crown Counsel decided not to follow a police recommendation of criminal charges, Tom had previously suggested he may pursue B.C.’s Attorney General to overturn the decision.
“We haven’t done that yet. We’re still hoping the Crown can do its job,” he told the Richmond News.
“The maximum penalty can still mean jail time. We are looking for at least that kind of penalty, if he’s found guilty.”
Outside the courthouse, Brad’s mom, Lianne, said she gets the impression that the justice system in the province can’t cope.
“I do believe the system is overwhelmed and (Crown are) looking for the easiest conviction,” said Lianne, holding a picture of her son and trying to hold back her tears.
Pointing to the picture, she added, “This is who Brad was. Brad was a talented, intelligent, compassionate human being.
“We stand here as his voice. A voice for justice. He would have wanted us to raise these issues.”
Turning to her baby granddaughter, who was born eight months after Brad was killed, Lianne said, “He would have loved his daughter; he never had a chance to meet her; but we know he’s with us right now.”
Asked by media outside of court if she could see any of her husband’s characteristics in their daughter, Brad’s wife, Adele, understandably broke down for a moment.
“I wish he could have been part of her life,” said Adele, after gathering her emotions.
Adele, who only found out two days after her husband’s death that she was pregnant, said she plans to come back to court for each and every court date set for Fan.
Dean was killed on Nov. 6 last year after Fan, who was 19 at the time of the crash, allegedly plowed head-on into a group of six cyclists on a notorious stretch of River Road, where it meets Westminster Highway in east Richmond.
Dean’s father said last month that he was told by Crown about there “being no precedent for these kinds of cases being tried under criminal proceedings.
“I was told that it was too hard to prove and that the ‘case law wasn’t great.’ But if these kinds of cases never get tried under the criminal code, how is that ever going to change?
“It’s quite simple, justice is not being served. We have a couple of lawyers working for us on this and we are going to be lobbying the office of the (B.C.) Attorney General.
“It’s not just us, Brad’s family, there are a number of people outraged at this.”
Tom said he would “absolutely” be willing to risk the driver walking free from court if criminal proceedings failed, rather than see him face the undue care and attention charge, which carries a maximum fine of $2,000 and, under rare circumstances, six months in prison.
“I’d rather have no conviction at all than go for this Motor Vehicle Act joke,” said Tom.
“If (Fan) has to pay a fine and get a few demerit points, I couldn’t care less about that; that means absolutely nothing.
“As it stands, there are no ramifications for Michael Fan.”
Tom said there is a wider “duty to this society for (people) to be held accountable for their actions.
“What is Crown Counsel telling people by this decision? As long as you’re not driving stone drunk, you’ll be OK.”
Richmond-based criminal defence lawyer Jason Tarnow explained the difference between driving without due care and attention and dangerous driving.
“For someone to be convicted of driving without due care and attention...the court will consider the general manner in which the vehicle was driven in relation to the surrounding conditions and circumstances on the road...” Tarnow told the Richmond News.
“Alternatively, for someone to be convicted of dangerous driving (under s. 249 of the Criminal Code), it must be founded in evidence that the manner of driving was a ‘marked departure’ from what the court considers to be acceptable driving and part of that analysis focuses on whether the driver had intended to drive (dangerously).”
When an accident happens, and there is no evidence of an intentional “marked departure” from what is considered to be acceptable, the police, added Tarnow, are “left with the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, which carry lesser consequences...
“Obviously, this can leave victims extremely frustrated when bodily injury and/or death is the result of that accident.”
Tom said he was told by the RCMP that they had recommended criminal charges, although the police couldn’t confirm this to the News.
