NEW WESTMINSTER - Surrey Mountie Adrian Oliver died in a horrific traffic crash in Newton in 2012 but there was also a surviving victim who was injured trying to save his life.
That's what lawyer Brij Mohan said about the other driver, Harjit Singh Lotay, who he says has been vilified for being in the wrong place at the wrong time."Mr. Lotay was the forgotten victim," Mohan said of his client. Lotay stood beside him Tuesday in Begbie Square, a few steps away from the B.C. Supreme courthouse in New Westminster.Lotay spoke briefly. "I've done nothing wrong. I'm suffering myself," he said. "I feel sorry for this guy, he lost his life, that's all I can say."Oliver, 28, was the fifth Surrey Mountie to be killed while on duty since the force began policing this city in 1951. He was heading back to the detachment headquarters near the end of his shift, just before 5 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2012. The unmarked police car he was driving, a 2010 Crown Victoria Interceptor, crashed with Lotay's semi-truck at 148th Street and 64th Avenue as the truck driver was arriving home from Calgary.The crash demolished the front end of the police car.Lotay was charged with careless driving but the Crown stayed the charge last week.Canada's Attorney General has decided to file a lawsuit against Lotay to recover the cost of the destroyed police car and equipment it carried."Mr. Lotay will vigorously defend that lawsuit if and when he gets served with those documents," Mohan said. "Mr. Lotay did nothing wrong."Lotay required multiple stitches as a result of trying to save Oliver's life at the scene of the crash, the lawyer said. He's also had two surgeries on his shoulder, sustained soft tissue damage, and suffers from "serious" depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. "He is living the nightmares of this accident every night," Mohan said.tzytaruk@thenownewspaper.com