More than two years since Windsor’s Ryan Barron was fatally struck by a vehicle while he was skateboarding, a driver has been arrested and charged in relation to the hit-and-run death.
Vancouver police announced on Friday that Amanpreet Sohal, 23, of Vancouver, faces charges of failing to stop at an accident causing bodily harm and dangerous driving causing death.
On April 17, 2016, around 2:30 a.m., Barron and a friend were skateboarding in Vancouver on Heather Street near West 54th Avenue when Barron was hit by a fast-moving compact car.
The vehicle did not stop. Barron died from his injuries in hospital a short time afterward.
Two days later, investigators located what they believed to be the suspect vehicle at a home in the east side of Vancouver. The Mitsubishi Lancer showed extensive damage and was seized as evidence.
Sohal’s arrest and charges are the result of 32 months of investigation by Vancouver police.
Ryan Barron on the west coast, January 2016.
Vancouver police spokesman Const. Jason Doucette described the case as “complex, lengthy, and difficult,” and said collision investigators have worked tirelessly on it since it began.
“Our job is to work on behalf of Ryan and his family to ensure the person responsible for his death is held accountable for their actions,” Doucette said in a news release. “We are pleased charges have been laid.”
Doucette said no further information on the case will be shared by Vancouver police as the matter is now before the courts.
Barron, 30, was well-known and beloved in Windsor’s skateboarding and hardcore music scenes. As well as performing in his own band, Days Fade, he frequently organized and promoted all-ages shows and skateboarding events.
In 2015, Barron moved to Vancouver with some of his closest friends to work for a rolling paper company.
Fellow skateboarders and musicians remembered Barron as a community builder for young people, while colleagues described him as a hard-working employee with a genial attitude.
Since Barron’s death, family members have maintained a Facebook group entitled “Justice for Ryan,” providing updates on the case and memorial events over the past two-and-a-half years.
Late Thursday night, Barron’s mother Leigh announced the arrest. “My Christmas wish came true,” she wrote.
Ryan Barron skateboarding in downtown Windsor, April 2015.
Joseph Gee, a friend of Barron, posted an emotional response on social media, saying that he feels he can finally start the healing process over his friend’s death.
“Not having closure was a very tough thing to deal with,” Gee wrote. “We have all been holding onto a lot of anger this whole time and it wasn’t easy.”
Another close friend of Barron, Ian Dummer — who played drums in Days Fade — said plans are underway for a community gathering to remember Barron and to celebrate the new development in the case.
There is also a fundraising effort to build a skateboarding bowl in Barron’s name.
“I could talk for hours just sharing stories, emotions, and incredible memories that I have had with and because of Ryan,” Dummer wrote.
“He was my brother, and sometimes the father figure I didn’t really have as a little kid growing up. I owe him everything. I am who I am because of Ryan.”
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Ryan Barron skateboarding in downtown Windsor, April 2015.
Ryan Barron (left) at a hardcore house show in Windsor, March 2015.
Graffiti tributes to Windsor skateboarder Ryan Barron cover a wall near Atkinson Memorial Skate Park in Windsor.
Windsor skateboarders gather downtown as a tribute to fellow skateboarder Ryan Barron, who was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Vancouver in April 2016.
A tribute mural to Ryan Barron at Atkinson Skate Park in Windsor.