Two Sikh Girls Hi, One Killed, in Fatal Crosswalk

[khalsa mero roop]

Driver involved in fatal Tokay crash will be charged

By Layla Bohm

News-Sentinel Staff Writer

The driver involved in a fatal accident at Tokay High School in March will be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The victims' families, meanwhile, plan to file suit against the city and school district in an effort to make the crosswalk safer for pedestrians.

The charges against Jonathan Bianchi, 19, of Lodi, are expected to be filed today in Lodi court, according to San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Dorothy Klishevich. Each of the two counts carries a penalty of up to a year in jail, plus possible fines and restitution.

On the morning of March 4, 17-year-old Sukhdeep Kaur and 15-year-old Sharnjit Dhillon were dropped off across the street from the high school, as they were most days. As they crossed Century Boulevard, they were struck by a pick-up truck driven by Bianchi, witnesses and Lodi Police said at the time.

Kaur was thrown approximately 30 feet and received head injuries that sent her into a coma. She never awoke, and died 10 days later at Stanford Medical Center.

Dhillon, in the meantime, was dragged about 100 feet until the truck stopped and students lifted it off of her. She received major injuries and spent nearly two weeks in the hospital before being released.

Mohinder Mann, a San Jose attorney who knows the family through their affiliation with the Stockton Sikh temple and has been working with them since the accident, said he was glad to hear charges had been filed. But he and the family also have bigger concerns.

"I want this crosswalk

to be made safer, and so does the family. We will be taking legal action to make sure it's done," he said.

Mann said he plans to soon file suit against the city of Lodi and Lodi Unified School District.

The crosswalk, at the intersection of Century Boulevard and Dartmoor Circle, is in an area that often has high traffic during school hours. It's located near the stoplight at Ham Lane, so it would probably not be a good idea to put a stop sign so close to that intersection, Traffic Engineer Paula Fernandez said at the time.

She received the police report Wednesday and did not yet have any updates on recommendations or studies of the intersection.

Mann also thought the charges against Bianchi should be felonies, rather than misdemeanors.

Bianchi could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

"There's no restitution that's adequate. It's a very sad case," Klishevich said. "This is not an assault on his character; it's his conduct that we're prosecuting."

Police officers wrapped up their investigation Friday and took the case to Klishevich the same day after concluding that Bianchi was at fault, said Motor Officer Larry Vietz.

Officers do not believe Bianchi was speeding, but he did violate crosswalk right-of-way laws, Vietz said.

Witnesses, including one who was driving directly behind Bianchi, said at the time that the morning sun was nearly blinding, and that could have contributed to the accident.

The legal proceedings against Bianchi will likely start today, and Bianchi will be sent a letter with a date to appear in court. That date will probably not be for several weeks, Klishevich said.

"He deserves to be punished for what he did, but we still need to be thinking of ways to protect the children," Mann said.