Mark Robinson
Assistant News Editor
Varinder “Vick” Chahal now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for his role in a drunken-driving crash last month that killed a fellow VCU student and left two others injured.
Chahal, a senior accounting major at VCU, was indicted on a charge of aggravated involuntary manslaughter at a hearing Thursday morning in Richmond Circuit Court.
Prosecutors dropped Chahal’s lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence and refusal to submit to a breath or blood test.
Last month, Richmond Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Tracy Thorne-Begland said he would look to raise the charge based on the amount of alcohol consumed “as well as the aggravated driving behavior of accelerating into an intersection against the red light,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
Ed Riley, Chahal’s attorney, said he plans to contest the charge.
“We’ll see how the case develops, how the evidence plays out,” Riley said. “At this point, we’re looking at the charges and we’re going to see what the government can prove.”
Chahal is the accused driver of a Mazda 6 that ran a red light at the intersection of South Second and East Canal streets around 12:37 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22. His car T-boned a Toyota Yaris, which spun into a nearby brick building. Richmond police said one of their officers witnessed the crash.
Carolina Perez, a sophomore biology major at VCU, was riding in the backseat of the Yaris at the point of impact. She was taken to MCV but died shortly after the crash.
Neither Chahal, nor any of his four passengers in the car were injured in the crash.
The police had to get a search warrant for Chahal’s blood because he refused to submit to blood or breath tests. After Thursday’s hearing, Thorne-Begland told the Richmond Times-Dispatch he is waiting for the results of toxicology tests that he expects will show Chahal’s blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash.
Chahal is free on $25,000 bond. VCU cannot confirm if he has returned to the university, but public relations specialist Mike Porter said Chahal is still enrolled.
Riley said he doesn’t know about Chahal’s academic standing with VCU. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the university cannot disclose a student’s grades or personal information.
“As I understand, one of the things (Chahal) wants to try and do is finish up his degree because he’s very close to graduating,” Riley said. “He’d like to do that if possible.”
According to Riley, Chahal and his family are “devastated” by the situation. The Chahal family has expressed a desire to reach out to the Perez family about the crash, Riley added.
“Unfortunately, honest people make mistakes,” Riley said. “The commonwealth has certainly leveled the charges, and (Chahal) is going to have to deal with those charges.”
Chahal’s next court date is set for Wednesday, May 2. CT