RANJIT Singh Sandhu, 29, was sentenced to two years in prison last week in B.C. Provincial Court for crashing his vehicle through the entrance of Royal Columbian Hospital on September 9, 2012.
He was convicted last month of impaired driving, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and mischief endangering life.
Sandhu’s sentence will be served concurrently with his three-year term for pointing a firearm and possessing an unauthorized firearm in connection with an incident at Vancouver’s Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel on October 15, 2012.
IN the September 9 incident, the New Westminister Police said at the time that when they arrived the hospital after receiving a call at 1:35 a.m., the found a black truck, bearing British Columbia License Plate EH 2567, inside the main entrance of the hospital. The crash caused thousands of dollars of damage to the hospital. The driver, identified as Sandhu, was extracted from the vehicle by staff and paramedics.
Police said that multiple witnesses observed Sandhu drive the vehicle erratically on East Columbia Street, turn into the hospital parking lot, maintain his speed and turn into the front emergency entrance doors at the Royal Columbian Hospital.
They said that when Sandhu drove into the hospital, two pedestrians sustained minor injuries caused by his actions. His actions were a complete disregard for human life and safety since many pedestrians were observed walking near the entrance of the hospital prior to the vehicle crashing inside the hospital.
In the October 15 incident, Vancouver police said at the time that at about 2:30 a.m. they received a 9-1-1 call about a man who walked into the Pacific Rim hotel with a handgun. To ensure the safety of the public, police locked down a portion of the hotel and closed the area to pedestrian and vehicle traffic for more than nine hours, as they conducted negotiations with the distraught man.
At about 12:15 p.m., the Vancouver Police Emergency Response Team took the man into custody. He was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Police said he was known to them and had a history of mental illness.
