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Bolton youth awakens from coma as his family fights to keep repeat offenders off the road

August 7, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Riley Murphy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

“This never should have happened to my son. This guy should have been punished a long time ago,” said Riz Arshad, while sitting in Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Many floors above is his son, 21-year-old Gabriel Arshad, who has been in critical condition since July 5.

On that day, the Bolton youth was in a four-vehicle collision at the intersection of Highway 50 and Coleraine Drive in Brampton.

The driver was Koushal Kasiram, a 58-year-old man from Mississauga.

Kasiram was charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm, driving with excess blood alcohol, and prohibited driving (three counts), reads the Peel Regional Police Report.

He is a five-time repeat offender for impaired driving-related convictions and was also on three separate lifetime driving prohibitions at the time of the collision.

The crash left Gabriel not only in a coma, but also anticipated to have “long-term life-altering injuries,” reads the report.

Riz said his son has since woken up from the coma, and is even showing his shining personality through the little movement he currently has.

He says that his son can “put his fists up” to his sisters in a joking way, exhibiting the classic sibling rivalries they have always shared with one another.

He can also give his family a big thumbs up.

“I’m just happy to see my son open his eyes and recognize me. It’s so amazing to have that, we’ll take whatever comes,” says Riz.

The Arshad family’s battle is far from over, as Riz shared they are currently awaiting to see the neurological damage Garbiel has suffered as his body heals.

The family has lived in Bolton for more than 15 years, and it’s where all their children have grown up.

Gabriel was actively pursuing a career as a plumber, seeking apprenticeships while also coaching soccer.

Riz shared Gabriel was constantly showering him and his family with gifts and surprises.

“He’s a good kid. He does it not just for me, he does it for the whole family. He’s very, very family-oriented. He looked forward to those family occasions where family would come over, and he would look forward [to it] more than anybody in our house. Sometimes people get stressed out when the whole family gets together, and that guy was excited every single time,” shared Riz.

Gabriel’s family is petitioning and calling for bail reform.

Riz said it was initially his daughters who took to Facebook to ask the community to write to the Crown to reconsider Kasiram’s bail.

“This guy is already out, and it’s wrong,” said Riz. “There should have been a little bit more than just don’t drink again and you’re out.”

Riz continued: “If you’re getting into your car for the sixth time knowing that your license is suspended and you’re drunk and you’re driving, in his case, a 10,000 pound weapon. If you’re going to be driving this huge weapon while you’re drinking and you hurt somebody, it should be considered attempted murder or manslaughter. Thank God my son didn’t die, but it should be a lot more serious than just ‘here’s your sixth DUI.’”

“We had him in jail. He was in custody. Why do we let him out if he’s that much of a concern?”

Riz urges everyone across Ontario to call their Members of Parliament and express that this situation “is not tolerable.”

“It’s not just for drinking and driving. It’s giving bail to criminals that don’t deserve it, that they’ve proven themselves, and proven to us, that they have a problem and they need some help, and they need to be locked up for a while,” says Riz.

Kyle Seeback, MP for Dufferin-Caledon, has started a petition following the accident to demand bail reform.

“Demand bail reform now. Let’s protect our families, our roads, and our communities — before another life is shattered,” reads the petition.

The GoFundMe for Gabriel, created by his sisters, is currently at $46,000 of the $75,000 goal, aiming to “cover his rising medical and legal expenses now, and to support what will be a long and difficult road ahead,” according to the website.

His family spends every day with him at Sunnybrook.

“I’m not sure what’s going to come in the next couple of years for us. But I know that’s something we’re having to think about,” says Riz.

To donate to the family’s GoFundMe, visit gofundme.com/f/help-gabriel-fight-for-his-life-after-a-tragic-collision.

To sign Kyle Seeback’s petition for bail reform, visit www.kyleseeback.ca/jailnotbail.

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