B.C. driver who left injured passenger behind pleads guilty in high-speed rollover crash: RCMP

A damaged vehicle is seen in Burnaby following a crash on June 5, 2020.

A driver who left his injured passenger at the scene of a high-speed crash in Metro Vancouver two years ago has been sentenced to jail time, police say.

Moussa Daoui entered a guilty plea plea last week and was sentenced to two years behind bars, Mounties in Burnaby said Tuesday.

Daoui's plea was to criminal negligence causing bodily harm. It's one of several charges initially approved against the driver following a June 5, 2020, collision.

Police said Daoui was behind the wheel when a Dodge Durango rolled over at Gilmore Avenue and Halifax Street. The vehicle struck two hydro poles, a lamp post and a traffic light before flipping several times, officers said at the time.

The driver left the scene, Mounties said, leaving the 18-year-old female passenger behind with severe injuries. He was found not far from the scene, arrested and then later released, pending investigation.

Charges were approved against Daoui about a year later, but by that point he'd left B.C., going back to his home province of Quebec.

A Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest in May 2021, but he was able to evade police until the following January.

Daoui, age 33, was arrested by police in Laval and brought back to B.C. to face his charges. He entered the plea on May 30, police said.