The quiet early hours in Brampton turned into a nightmare on Saturday, Nov. 1, when a devastating two-vehicle collision at Queen Street and Chinguacousy Road claimed the lives of two people — one of them a young woman whose presence in the wreck went unnoticed for hours. The death of 20-year-old Kourtney Khan has left the community reeling, mourning not only her loss but the troubling set of facts that followed.
According to the Peel Regional Police, at approximately 4:20 a.m., a Honda Civic — occupied by the 31-year-old driver and a passenger — collided with another vehicle driven by a 17-year-old youth. The driver of the Civic, later identified as Sukhdev Singh, a husband and father to a baby girl who was working for rideshare company Lyft that night, died at the scene. Initially, police believed Singh was the singular fatality.
But as the day wore on, Kourtney’s family reported her missing. They tracked her phone through a shared app — the last ping took them to the crash location. Hours after the collision, when the wrecked Honda had already been towed to an impound yard, officers returned to examine the vehicle more thoroughly. It was then they discovered Kourtney’s body in the crushed back seat, embedded in the wreckage — more than 12 hours after the crash.
The fact that a passenger’s remains could go undetected for so long has prompted Peel Police to launch an internal review to determine how investigators initially cleared the scene without noticing her. In their statement, police noted that “at this time, there was no immediate or clear indication of a passenger” when first responders arrived. The full review is underway, and the force has asked for privacy for those grieving during this deeply painful time.
Meanwhile, the 17-year-old driver of the other vehicle has been charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death and failing or refusing to comply with a demand for testing. As the youth’s identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, no name has been released.
The community has rallied in sorrow, striking chords of grief and heartfelt tribute. Friends remember Kourtney as a bright young woman whose heart overflowed with love, laughter and compassion — someone who brought joy into every room she entered. Singh’s circle recalls him as a devoted family man trying to make ends meet, taking rideshare shifts after his warehouse job was unexpectedly cancelled. A GoFundMe set up to support Singh’s wife and baby girl had already gathered tens of thousands of dollars by mid-week.
A spokesperson for Lyft issued a statement expressing deep sympathy. “We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss. Our hearts are with the families and loved ones of the driver and rider,” the statement read. The company also confirmed they are cooperating fully with law enforcement.
As the details continue to unfold, the questions linger: How could a passenger in a mangled car go unnoticed for hours? How will police improve their scene protocols to ensure nothing gets missed? And for two grieving families, how do they move forward when the system meant to find the truth missed so much? In Brampton, the sadness echoes in the silence of that early morning crash site — a reminder of fragile lives and the heavy cost of a single moment’s decision. Rest in peace, Kourtney Khan — you will be remembered.
