Police lay more charges after alleged Mississauga street race kills woman
Rabab Arshad, 19, of Milton, Ont. was ejected from car, pronounced dead on scene
Two drivers who were allegedly street racing in Mississauga have been charged with criminal negligence causing death and seven other charges after a vehicle crashed into a pole on Monday night, killing 19-year-old Rabab Arshad of Milton, Ont.
The drivers, both men, 20 and 22, are in police custody and appeared in court Tuesday for a bail hearing.
The other charges they face include dangerous driving causing death, and criminal negligence causing death by street racing.
The vehicles, a Mitsubishi Eclipse and a Ford Fusion, began speeding down Eglinton Avenue West after leaving a nearby restaurant.
After coming into slight contact with each other when approaching Mavis Road, the Eclipse lost control and hit a pole at the intersection ejecting Arshad from the vehicle.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash also seriously injured a woman, 21, and left one of the accused, the 20-year-old male driver, with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Peel paramedics took the woman to a trauma centre, initially in critical condition, and the man to a local hospital. The woman's injuries are no longer considered life-threatening.
The other accused, the 22-year-old male driver, was not injured.
Police allege the vehicles were racing before one of the vehicles, containing three people, struck the pole.
Victim a 'free spirit,' friend says
Friends identified Arshad as the victim in Monday night's crash, and Amanda Curry says she couldn't believe the news of her friend's death when she heard it.
"She was a free spirit," Curry told CBC Toronto. "She was everything you would hope for in a friend."
Curry said Arshad hoped to get a job in human resources and was loved by her friends and family.
"She wanted to help people and wanted to be able to help people who couldn't help themselves, and she was good at it," she added. "To see her eyes and smile, it was contagious. It made everyone smile. To know that you're not going to see that anymore, it's hard."
Roads, which were closed in the area following the crash to allow officers to investigate, have been reopened.
Investigators are urging anyone who may have witnessed anything or who may have dashboard camera video to contact Peel police.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PRPMVC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PRPMVC</a> at MAVIS RD / EGLINTON AV <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mississauga?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mississauga</a>. Single vehicle possibly struck a pole. Intersection is closed. Call came in at 10:59 pm.
—@PeelPoliceMedia