Mohinder Singh, a Victorian Indian who was severely sleep deprived not having slept for days, had killed four police officers on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway in April 2020 ploughing his prime mover into four police officers. Now he has jailed for 22 years. He will be eligible for parole after 18 years and six months.
The horror crash which killed Constables Glen Humphris and Joshua Prestney, Senior Constable Kevin King and Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, caused the biggest ever single accident loss of life for Victoria police in its history.
Mohinder’s sentencing brings some sort of an end or finality to the tragic chapter only days from the horror crash’s first anniversary.
Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan said the incident had profoundly changed the lives of families of his four victims.
“The police officers had no hope,” Justice Coghlan said.
“Their deaths are entirely unnecessary and should have been avoided. Their deaths were caused by you.”
The four police were dealing with Richard Pusey who had been pulled over for driving his Porsche at 149 kilometres per hour on the Eastern Freeway.
The police were standing in an emergency lane when the truck, driven by Mohinder veered into the lane killing all four.
He pleaded guilty to eight charges, including culpable driving causing death and drug trafficking.
The court had heard at the time Mohinder Singh was seriously sleep deprived, having had only five hours of rest in the three days preceding the crash.
The court also heard Mohinder Singh was a prolific ice user, a habit which had made him psychotic. Around and at the time of the crash his condition had caused him to see witches and aliens.
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In the court, his lawyer claimed Mohinder had allegedly received “significant pressure” from his boss, trucking manager Simiona Tuteru, to deliver one more load which ended in that horror crash.
Mohinder Singh’s manager Simiona Tuteru has also been charged with manslaughter over the crash but is planning to contest the allegations against him.
Mohinder Singh has apologized to the families of the four police officers who lost their lives in the crash.