Drivers from all over the city gathered on Sunday night at the Calgary Airport depot to remember a fellow driver who was killed by an alleged drunk driver on Friday night.
Amritpal Karbanda, 46, died of his injuries sustained in a crash at the intersection of Macleod Trail and 12 Avenue S.E. early Saturday morning.
Karbanda’s passenger, 25-year-old Jillian Lavallee, also died in hospital following the crash.
Cabbies say they’re devastated by the news of Kharbanda’s death. He was a devoted husband and father of two.
“It’s very shocking for us,“ says Darminder Khangura. “He was a very good guy and we miss him a lot.”
Vishal Kapoor, another driver, said he was devoted. “He was a very hard working guy, as well as for his family back home.”
The gathering is also working to collect money to help support Kharbanda's family who is struggling with his loss.
At about 2 a.m. on May 2, police say that a Cadillac Escalade pickup truck ran a red light, crashing into the side of an eastbound Honda Civic. The force of the crash pushed the Escalade into a taxi, which was pinned against a street light.
The driver of the Escalade, 20-year-old Ali Montoya, has been charged with one count of impaired driving causing death, but it’s expected that he’ll be facing a second charge later this week.
Three men in their 20s and a man in his forties, the other occupants of the Escalade and Civic, are in stable, non-life-threatening condition.
