The lawyer for a local man charged with impaired driving in a fatal crash on Metis Trail on New Year’s Day was in a Calgary courtroom on Wednesday to enter a plea.
Kulwinder Singh Chohan, 36, of Calgary is charged with impaired driving causing death in connection with the death of Francis Pesa in a crash on January 1, 2014.
Police were called to a crash on Metis Trail at about 6:00 p.m. and say a Dodge Ram truck crossed the centre line and side-swiped a Mazda before crashing into Pesa’s BMW.
Pesa, 20, was critically injured in the collision and died a few days later from his injuries.
Pesa’s family and friends were in court for the plea and held a peaceful demonstration outside in his memory.
They plan to start a social media campaign to honour Pesa and also bring awareness to the dangers of drinking and driving.
“We’re here because we want to gather strength from each other because we know that this is going to be a long battle to seek justice not only for Francis but also for victims of drunk driving,” said Marichu Antonio, family friend.
“We want to make sure that Fancis isn’t just a drunk driving statistic. We want the public to understand that Francis was just an everyday guy and this is something that could happen to anybody,” said friend Lian Tolentino.
Chohan's lawyer appeared on his behalf and reserved plea. Chohan is out on bail and is scheduled to be back in court on March 20th.
Pesa’s supporters say they will be there every step of the way.
(With files from Elissa Carpenter)
