Bhupinder Singh faces sentencing submissions over muscle car road crash death of Christine Sandford

A grieving father has rejected a muscle car driver’s “poor excuse” for not helping his daughter, saying he has no place on the roads.

• Killer driver didn’t help because turban flew off

Christine Sandford died after her car was struck, at up to 160km/h, by a 460 horsepower V8 Ford Mustang - but its driver did not go to her aid.

Though Bhupinder Singh urged bystanders to call police, he did not physically help Ms Sandford because his turban had come loose and he “felt naked”.

On Wednesday, Ms Sandford’s father, Chris Tucker, faced Singh in the District Court but was too emotionally overcome to read his victim impact statement.

He wiped away tears as a prosecutor read it on his behalf, denouncing Singh’s actions.

“Your excuse is poor, Mr Singh - I would walk naked through fire and hail to save someone,” his statement read.

“You drove an expensive sports car like (it was) on a race track, on a main road when peak hour was just calming down.

“(If it had not been Christine) I’m sure you would have killed or maimed someone else.”

Singh, 23, of Ottoway, pleaded guilty – after being told, by a judge to stop “putting your head in the sand” – to causing Ms Sanford’s death by dangerous driving.

His car T-boned hers on March 18, 2023 but he did not stop to help, because the impact knocked his turban loose which was, to him, the equivalent of being naked in public.

Bhupinder Singh. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

On Wednesday, the prosecutor said Singh’s driving prior to the crash included “tailgating, flashing high beams and swerving around other vehicles at speed”.

Singh’s actions were “astonishing” and clearly “for his own gratification”, he said, warranting immediate imprisonment.

Paul D’Angelo, for Singh, said his client accepted “full responsibility” and apologised “unreservedly” to Ms Sandford’s family.

“He mourns their loss and prays for (her), and also for his own forgiveness, every single day,” he said.

Christine Sandford, 40, was killed leaving a service station on North East Rd. Picture: Facebook

“His spiritual leader says Singh ‘prays first and foremost for the soul of Christine Sandford, for her peaceful rest’.”

The Mustang, he said, belonged not to Singh but to his flatmate and he had driven it previously, but never at speed.

“He has searched his brain and conscience to understand why he drove at such absurd speeds,” he said.

“Your Honour might properly form the view he got carried away momentarily in a rush of impulse.”

He asked Singh be sentenced to home detention - but Judge Paul Muscat said that was a difficult submission to accept.

“(Singh) was not someone who showed no concern for what he did or for the welfare of the driver of the vehicle he had collided with,” he said.

“(But) I’ve watched the footage (of the incident) and you can hear the roar of the engine... he just kept going at speed.

“He didn’t give Ms Sandford a chance of survival... her father hit the nail on the head - I couldn’t say anything better than that.”

He agreed to order a home detention report but revoked Singh’s bail and remanded him in custody for sentencing in two weeks’ time.

Outside court, Sikh Society of SA Secretary Ravine Kaur Jasbir said that, for any Sikh man, being in public without a turban was “frowned upon”.

“The turban is a hallmark of pride for a Sikh person,” she said.

“Even in the situation of an emergency, if a Sikh man was involved and their hair was not covered, if the person helping them knew they were Sikh they would bring a scarf or something they could use to cover their head.

“When a Sikh man is in public they would feel very exposed if their turban was not on... it is frowned upon.”