B.C. news: Appeal in case of crash that killed toddler [Video]

Crown prosecutors are appealing a not-guilty verdict in a tragic case where a driver struck and killed a toddler on a downtown Vancouver sidewalk.

Seyed Moshfeghi Sadeh was charged with dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm and acquitted after a judge-alone trial last month. The 2021 crash seriously injured Michael Hivva, who was walking on the sidewalk while holding his two-year-old daughter Ocean.

The central issue at the trial – where the Crown and defence agreed on most of the facts including that Moshfeghi Sadeh ran a red light – was intent, legally referred to as “mens rea.”

The BCPS confirmed, in a statement, that the ground of appeal, as stated in its Notice of Appeal is that “the trial judge erred in law by misconstruing or misapplying the legal principles governing whether the required mens rea had been proven.”

At trial, the court heard the …