RCMP announced Thursday that Tim Carl Robert Goerner, 22, has been charged with two counts of impaired driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death and impaired driving in connection with the crash that killed Emily Selwood and Evan Smith , both 18, at the beginning. morning hours of September 26, 2021. Staff Sgt. Chuck Lann said in a news release that investigators have worked “tirelessly” on the case over the past year. “This was a difficult and tragic incident,” Lan said. “Our thoughts are with the families of these two students.” Gerner’s next court date is scheduled for Friday in Richmond, BC
“Emily was much more than a tragic statistic”
The parents of the victims issued statements Thursday addressing the charges and remembering the short lives of the two students. “Our family’s hope is that the person responsible will be brought to justice based on the facts and evidence with a successful conviction; however, this will not bring Emily and Evan back,” Lori and Duncan Selwood said. They said their daughter Emily grew up on Vancouver Island, where she developed a passion for the outdoors and became an accomplished rower with her high school team. Emily Selwood, 18, was a first-year social studies student at UBC. Her parents said she had “a great capacity for compassion and exemplary kindness”. (BC RCMP) “Emily was much more than a tragic statistic and we want to remember her for what she achieved in her short life,” the Selwoods said. “Emily had a great capacity for compassion and exemplary kindness. Her dedication to service and commitment to helping others led her to work on many initiatives, through her school, to help those in need and protect the environment. In whatever she did, Emily worked hard to embody her favorite Ian Maclaren quote: “Be kind, because everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” They said he came to UBC to study social science and a fund has been established in her memory for the support of undergraduate students in the School of Fine Arts.
“This violent crime affects everyone”
Evan Smith loved rock climbing, camping, canoeing and music and volunteered with Scouts Canada, according to parents Debbie O’Day-Smith and Adam Smith. They said he was an honor student at his high school in Mississauga, Ont., and had come to Vancouver to study engineering. “Because of someone’s willful decision to drive after drinking, our son’s plans, dreams and goals will never be realized. This heinous act of selfishness and stupidity made our worst nightmare come true,” the parents wrote in their statement. Evan Smith, 18, was a first-year engineering student at UBC. His parents described him as “an intelligent, conscientious, honest and loving person”. (BC RCMP) They said they hope for a conviction, but regardless of the outcome, their hearts are forever broken. “[Evan] he was a loyal friend and a wonderful son and brother. His positive attitude, playful competitiveness and humble disposition left a mark on everyone he met. We couldn’t be more proud of the young man he has become,” said O’Day-Smith and Smith. “For those who didn’t know him, know that an intelligent, conscientious, honest and caring man was in the prime of his youth when he was killed. This violent crime affects everyone. Drug and alcohol driving must stop.” UBC president Santa Ono also expressed his sorrow Thursday for two young lives that “ended too quickly and under terrible circumstances.” She said grief and trauma counseling is available to members of the university community who are still struggling with the tragedy. “We have collectively and individually mourned Emily Selwood and Evan Smith in the weeks and months since, and on behalf of the university I want to once again extend our deepest condolences to their grieving families. Emily and Evan are gone too soon and I cannot fathom the depth of their grief,” Ono said in a written statement.
