Bail Rejected for Drunken Indian American Man Who Killed Two Teens in Vehicular Homicide on Long Island
- 34-year-old Amandeep Singh allegedly smashed his pickup truck into a sedan with four male teens inside.
A Brooklyn appeals court in New York has unanimously rejected the bail request of Amandeep Singh, who allegedly smashed his pickup truck into a sedan with four male teens inside last month. The court’s decision on June 2 was based on new evidence showing the Indian American was driving 95 mph seconds before a wrong-way crash that killed two teenagers in Jericho, New York, Newsday reported.
The one-page ruling presented by a four-judge panel in the Appellate Division’s Second Judicial Department found a Nassau County District Court had followed the law last month when it rejected Singh’s initial bail request, the report added. Singh did not appear in court.
Additionally, prosecutors showed “receipts and security cameras that showed Singh was drinking at two bars before the crash, along with surveillance video from the scene of the accident,” the Newsday report added. They told the court that “Singh’s significant financial resources, multiple passports and extensive international travel, make him a serious flight risk.”
The May 3 crash killed Drew Hassenbein and Ethan Falkowitz, “both 14-year-old elite tennis players in the eighth grade, Newsday said. The two were sitting on the right side of the vehicle. The 17-year-old driver and another 16-year-old passenger survived the crash. They were admitted to a local hospital for internal injuries. All four were members of Roslyn’s tennis team and were on their way home after a victory. The teens were wearing their seat belts and the driver had a valid license, police said.
Singh, who was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, first-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene of an auto accident with a fatality, driving while intoxicated and two counts of second-degree assault.
According to Newsday, “toxicology reports taken four hours after the crash found Singh had a 0.15 blood alcohol level — nearly double the legal limit — along with cocaine in his system.” And an empty bottle of tequila was found behind Singh’s driver’s seat, Bushwack said.
Apart from these charges, Singh’s prior criminal history includes “a youthful offender conviction for driving while intoxicated and for gang assault.”