RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – A Richmond judge granted bond Monday for the VCU student accused of driving drunk and crashing into another car killing a fellow student, reported Rob Cardwell.
The attorney for Varinder Chahal, 23, asked for bond to be set at $25,000 so his client could finish school. It came out in court that Chahal is a senior accounting major at VCU.
Chahal is charged with driving under the influence, refusal to submit to a blood or breath test and felony manslaughter, according to a press release from the Richmond Police Department.
CBS 6’s Rob Cardwell talked with Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Tracy Thorne-Begland this morning. He said more charges could be coming in the case. “We will be submitting indictments to the grand jury to consider additional charges involving aggravated involuntary manslaughter”, Thorne-Begland said outside the John Marshall Courts Building in downtown Richmond, “based on both the amount of alcohol consumption as well as the aggravated driving behavior of accelerating into an intersection.”
Police said Chahal ran a red light the morning of Feb. 22 and T-boned another car at the intersection of 2nd and Canal Streets.
Carolina Perez, 19, was in the other car and died as a result of her injuries. Perez was a sophomore at VCU.
In addition to granting bond, the judge ordered Chahal surrender his passport and driver’s license. He also ordered the Springfield, Virginia native to stay in Virginia until his next court date.
A preliminary hearing was set for March 22.
