A 27-year-old man has been charged in connection with a crash that killed two young men on the Burnaby-New Westminster border last summer.
The deaths of Samir Olyad Suleiman, 18, and Yabsrat Habatamu Ytatek, 17, devastated the Lower Mainland Ethiopian community.
Both teens were firstborn sons of large families and were described as leaders in the Ethiopian community.
Ytatek, a Burnaby resident, had come to Canada with his family as a refugee via Somalia eight years earlier.
He was preparing to enter Grade 12 at Byrne Creek Community School in the fall.
Ytatek and Ali had been coming home from a soccer practice in New Westminster at about 11 p.m. on July 26, 2022, when the Toyota Yaris they were in collided with a Nissan Altima on 10th Avenue and Sixth Street, according to a police news release at the time.
Shortly before the crash, a Metro Vancouver Transit Police officer had attempted to pull over the Altima when it took off “at a high rate of speed,” according to police.
The officer then found the vehicle on fire at 10th Avenue and Sixth Street after it had collided with the Yaris, police said.
The driver and passenger of the Altima had fled on foot, according to police, but were quickly located and arrested.
Ytatek and Ali were rushed to hospital but died of their injuries.
“We all are heartbroken,” a neighbour and close friend of the Ali family said at a candlelight vigil for the young men last summer.
Charges have now been laid against Cory Robert Brown, 27.
He was charged on July 4 with two counts of criminal negligence causing death, flight from police and driving while disqualified under the criminal code.
Brown has been charged with dangerous driving at least three times before, according to Court Services Online.
He was sentenced to one day in jail and a one-year driving ban for dangerous driving and obstructing a police officer in Burnaby in December 2020.
He is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of dangerous driving and fleeing from police in Surrey on May 5, 2022 – less than three months before Ytatek and Ali were killed.
And he has been charged with dangerous driving in Burnaby on Aug. 28, 2022 – less than one month after Ytatek and Ali were killed.
Brown’s next court appearance on the charges related to the deadly Burnaby crash is scheduled for July 19.
"The profound loss in this investigation was felt by all involved and our thoughts remain with the families and community, as we direct our focus on moving forward through the court process," Transit Police Insp. Chris Mullin said in a news release Monday.
The Independent Investigations Office, which probes police incidents involving death or serious harm, is investigating the crash that killed Ytatek and Ali.
IIO media liaison Rebecca Whalen told the NOW the investigation is ongoing, but she couldn’t provide an update or an estimate for when it is expected to conclude.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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