Guilty verdict in Brampton crash that killed newlywed from Newmarket

A driver from Nobelton was going at least 100 km/h when he blew through a red light in Brampton killing newlywed Anam Laiq more than four years ago.

That’s according to Superior Court Justice Irving Andre, who on Wednesday (May 10) found Walid Wakeel guilty in the hit-and-run-crash that killed Laiq back in 2018.

Throughout the trial, the court heard how shortly before 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2018, Wakeel ran a red light at the intersection of Highway 50 and Castlemore Rd., crashing a white Audi into a Honda Civic driven by Laiq’s husband Mandeep Virpal.

Laiq, who was in the passenger seat, died at the scene while Virpal was rushed to hospital with serious injuries including two broken legs. The couple had only been married for a week when the crash happened.

The court also heard how following the crash, Wakeel climbed out of a window of the Audi and spoke to a number of witnesses at the scene, even asking them not to contact the police.

Andre said the Audi “accelerated before entering the intersection and travelled at a speed of at least 100 km/h when it struck the Honda in a 70 km/h zone.

“Rather than slowing down his vehicle, Mr. Wakeel accelerated his vehicle before entering the intersection on a red light. He entered the intersection at a speed well in excess of the speed limit,” Andre said in their ruling.

After the crash, Wakeel was seen making a phone call by witnesses before getting into the back seat of another vehicle that took off from the scene. A witness also testified that they thought they could smell alcohol on Wakeel’s breath.

“Significantly however, Mr. Wakeel did not call 911 after the accident. On the contrary, he tried to discourage two persons from doing so,” Justice Andre wrote in their decision. “Additionally, he wanted until the next day to turn himself in to the police,” adding that the timing of his surrender “may well have been related to the smell of alcohol.”

Khalid Waleed, a brother of the accused, had also given a statement to police that he received a call from his brother who had been in an accident and was hurt. But Khalid reportedly fled the country prior to the trial, and the Waleed family members have not been cooperative with police.

Wakeel Waleed has been released on $20,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court in Brampton next week to set a date for sentencing.