New York: A 36-year-old Indian-origin construction executive has been sentenced to up to 25 years for driving at 150 kmph while drunk and high on cocaine resulting in a crash that killed two teenagers in the US, according to media reports. The wrong-way crash took place in 2023 on Long Island in New York.
Amandeep Singh was sentenced on Friday to eight-and-a-third to 25 years in prison for the deaths of 14-year-old Ethan Falkowitz and Drew Hassenbein in the drunk driving crash in Nassau County, the New York Post reported. Singh appeared stonefaced and barely acknowledged the victims' family members as he entered the courtroom Friday in Mineola.
Hundreds of tearful friends and loved ones packed a Nassau County courtroom as Singh was sentenced to up to 25 years for the deaths of Roslyn Middle School eighth-graders Falkowitz and Hassenbein on May 3, 2023, the report added.
“Instead of picking up my son at school, I had to identify him at the morgue. It’s inhuman torture,” Drew’s father, Mitch Hassenbein, said in court – calling Singh “the definition of evil.” Drew's 85-year-old grandfather shouted at Singh.
"Why didn't you go home, you turkey. You're a bad, bad guy. You're now sorry after you killed two beautiful boys?" he said. Singh spoke in court for the first time, calling his actions the epitome of stupidity and selfishness.
"This was all my fault. Losing a child is the greatest grief. I have committed a great sin. If anyone should have died, it should have been me," he said.
In May 2023, both the tennis stars were on their way home from a tennis tournament victory dinner on North Broadway in Jericho when police say Singh drove his pickup truck the wrong way at 95 mph (150 kmph) in a 40 mph zone and struck the boys' car, killing the two middle schoolers and injuring two other teens, the CBS news reported.
Singh was drunk and high on cocaine with a blood alcohol content of .15 – nearly twice the legal limit – with cops recovering a bottle of tequila from his truck, the New York Post reported.
The married father of two later fled the scene and hid behind a dumpster at a nearby shopping centre, where he was busted by cops. Prosecutors said Singh was so drunk he thought he was in New Jersey, the report added.
Singh initially pleaded not guilty to a 15-count indictment on aggravated vehicular homicide, leaving the scene and driving drunk and impaired charges. Police body camera video appeared to show him trying to flee and hide behind a dumpster, and then lying to police.
"He was disoriented, his speech was slurred," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said last month. "He was adamant he was not involved in the crash." Singh later changed his plea to guilty in early January.
"Amandeep Singh accepted full responsibility for what happened on that tragic night. He will live with it for the rest of his life. Irrespective of the punishment the justice system gives him, he will feel his own punishment forever," defence attorney James Kousouros said at the time.
The district attorney said there was no plea deal and there would be no reduced sentence.
