Harjinder Singh killed Frank, Carmen Sant in Doonside, driving at 100km/h
A kebab shop delivery driver was at the end of his shift when he sped through a notorious western Sydney intersection at more than double the speed limit and crashed into an elderly couple, killing them. The full details of the double fatal can now finally be revealed.
Blacktown
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Shocking details have emerged from a horror crash at a notorious Doonside intersection which tragically killed an elderly couple.
Driver Harjinder Singh, a 22-year-old Indian national, has pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death, almost one year after the deadly crash led to the deaths of locals Frank and Carmen Sant.
Singh faced Penrith Local Court last Friday, where he admitted to the serious offences, alongside backup charges of negligent driving occasioning death and failing to give way.
The prosecution opted to withdraw additional charges, including two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and negligent driving occasion grievous bodily harm.
For the first time since the crash at the Crawford Rd and Coveny St intersection on August 24 last year, police details about the shocking crash can be revealed.
According to court papers, Singh had been working as a food delivery driver on the night of the crash and was driving back to a Doonside kebab shop at the end of his shift when he sped through a give way sign and T-boned the Sant’s Toyota Hilux ute.
Arriving in Australia in March 2019 on a student visa, the Blacktown resident held an overseas driver’s licence at the time of the crash.
Police say Singh had been driving at more than double the 50km/h speed limit – or about 101km/h – when he hit the Sants, causing their vehicle to spin out, mount a kerb and roll before it crashed through a fence.
The high-speed impact caused Singh’s Nissan Pulsar to mount the kerb and crash into a power pole before it came to a stop on the footpath.
Mrs Sant, 81, suffered fatal injuries and sadly died at the scene. Her husband, Frank, 83, was rushed to Westmead Hospital where he died the following afternoon.
According to police, CCTV footage showed Singh’s car speeding through give way signs at Coveny St when the crash took place.
Witnesses at the scene told police they heard Singh repeatedly state he had only been driving at 50km/h at the time of the crash.
In a police interview, he told officers he had slowed to 35km/h when he approached the intersection but struggled to see traffic on his left side due to parked cars.
The intersection had been at the centre of a long-running campaign, spearheaded by local residents to install a roundabout.
The campaign marked a milestone when Blacktown Council approved funding for a roundabout and the replacement of give way signs with stop signs until construction was complete. Sadly, the approval came just days before the deadly crash.
Singh will face Parramatta District Court next month, where a sentence date will be set.