Chahal pleads guilty in Carolina Perez case

From Staff Reports

Varinder “Vick” Chahal the VCU student accused of driving the car in a drunken-driving accident that killed fellow student Carolina Perez in February, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to involuntary manslaughter and DUI charges.

At the sentencing on Sept. 12, Chahal faces up to ten years in prison for the manslaughter charge and one year for the DUI. He was originally charged with also refusing to submit to a breath test, but the charge was dropped as part of the plea deal.The CT reported in February on the crash, which also injured students Gabrielle Atkins and Jan Garcia. VCU students came together after Perez’s death to establish “Carolina’s Pledge,” a denouncement of drunken driving in the student community.

The original aggravated manslaughter charge would have meant up to 20 years in jail for Chahal. The prosecutor, Christopher Toepp, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that he planned to meet with those who knew Perez, including her father, to determine the severity of the punishment he will request in September.

In May at the pre-trial hearing, Chahal’s lawyer, Ed Riley, requested a trial by judge over a jury trial.

At the same hearing, Chahal was granted special traveling privileges for June and this month for family weddings in Maryland under the condition that he not consume alcohol.

For a full timeline of the case, see here