Charges laid against driver 9 months after woman left dead in East Vancouver street

Vancouver police shared this photo of the suspect vehicle in April 2024. (Vancouver Police Department handout)

A 32-year-old man is facing criminal charges more than nine months after a woman was found badly injured on a street in East Vancouver, police announced Tuesday.

The 37-year-old victim died at the scene – near the Esso gas station at Kingsway and Victoria Drive – on the morning of March 30, 2024.

The B.C. Prosecution Service has approved charges of dangerous driving causing death and failure to stop at an accident resulting in death against Sina Mogharei, who police allege was the driver of a dark-coloured minivan spotted near the scene.

The Vancouver Police Department released images of the vehicle in early April 2024, asking the public for help identifying and locating its driver.

At the time, police said they believed the occupants of the vehicle “know what happened” to the woman, but added that she was not the victim of a hit-and-run.

“Evidence obtained during the investigation helped police locate the vehicle and identify the alleged driver,” the VPD said in a news release Tuesday.

Mogharei was arrested Tuesday, police said. Online court records indicate he remained in custody as of early afternoon, but was scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing later in the day.