‘Our loss as a family is unmeasurable’: Driver in fatal Surrey crash sentenced to jail

SURREY (NEWS 1130) — Brandon Bassi was remembered as the “light of the family,” after the man who was responsible for the crash that killed him was sentenced in a Surrey court Tuesday.

Brandon was an SFU student and a Whitecaps prospect when he died in 2019. He was one of several passengers in a Jeep that crashed while driving more than three times the speed limit. Two others suffered life-altering injuries.

Dilpreet Sandhu, who was 18 at the time of the crash, has been sentenced to 21 months in jail, 18 months for dangerous driving causing Brandon’s death, and three months for leaving the scene. In addition, he will serve a 15-month sentence concurrently for injuring the other passengers.

Once Sandhu is released from jail, he will not be allowed to drive for three years.

20 Yrs old Surrey Resident Dilpreet Sandhu gets 21 month jail for Surrey 2019 crash that killed 19 Yrs old Whitescap player #BrandonBassi. Details will on ⁦@OMNIpunjabi⁩ ⁦@OMNITelevision⁩ tonight pic.twitter.com/F1v5DR2RMT

— Prabhjot Kahlon (@PrabhjotKahlon) October 12, 2021

Dalbir, Brandon’s sister, says the family’s grief will be life-long.

“Our loss as a family is unmeasurable, unexplainable,” she says, adding that there is no amount of jail time that can make up for their loss.

“Twenty-one years or 21 months — none of that is going to bring Brandon back for us.”

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Dilpreet Sandhu outside court. (Image Credit: OMNI News)

Sandhu was initially charged with eight counts, and pleaded guilty to four. His lawyer, Marvin Stern, explained that while he recommended an 18-month sentence, Crown counsel asked for between two and three years.

“This is a very tragic case for everybody involved, the death of a very promising, prominent young person is tragic for everyone. We also know that [Brandon’s] cousin — who he treats as a brother — was horribly injured as well, plus another individual. It’s a difficult case for everybody,” he said outside the courthouse.

“I think the judge felt that his behaviour was highly reckless in the circumstance, and that young people should take this as a lesson that these are the kind of consequences that will last for a lifetime.”

Brandon’s brother-in-law, Ravi Sran, agrees with his wife that no sentence would have eased the family’s pain.

“Our Christmases our Thanksgivings are never going to be the same. They never will be. The family is suffering,” he says.

“It doesn’t change how our lives have been affected, and how we live our lives — our day-to-day lives. We still live without Brandon here.”

Although he does note it sends a message that “a momentary decision is going to affect people for the rest of their lives.”

‘A truly special individual’

But what Dalbir and her husband most want people to reflect on and learn from is how Brandon lived and how much he was loved.

“I think more than the sentence, what teenagers need to look at is actually Brandon himself as a person, more than the driver and the sentencing and the consequences,” Dalbir said.

“All I ever wish is that people look at who Brandon was as a person, and try to follow his path.”

A GoFundMe to set up a foundation in Brandon’s name was set up after his death. More than $80,000 was raised and the money will go toward scholarships for students graduating from the high school he attended, helping kids get involved in sports, and setting up tutoring and mentoring services.

“Brandon was the light of the family. He was an individual that was on a full-ride scholarship to Simon Fraser University, playing NCAA soccer. He was the most amazing human that we had in our lives,” Sran said.

“I think the community support that we had after the accident showcased that. He was just a truly special individual.”

– With files from Prabhjot Kahlon