Anmoldeep Singh fronts court for causing death of octogenarian

There were emotionally charged scenes in court as an Uber driver was sentenced for driving through a stop sign and killing an 89-year-old and seriously injuring his brother.

Uber driver Anmoldeep Singh has been sentenced for nearly four years for driving through a stop sign and causing the death of an 89-year-old man.

An Uber driver who drove through a stop sign and caused the death of an 89-year-old was allowed a moment with his distraught mother before he was led away to begin his jail term.

Anmoldeep Singh, 25, pleaded guilty in the County Court last week to charges of dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing serious injury and appeared for sentencing on Thursday.

After being handed a three year and nine month jail sentence, Judge Frances Hogan allowed his mother, who had travelled had from India, to briefly meet her son in the dock before he was led away.

Judge Hogan said Singh, who had no previous convictions and was otherwise of good character, had offered his apologies to the victim’s family who were also present in court.

Singh ignored a stop sign before the intersection of Clegg and Wellington roads at Wandin North on the afternoon of February 11, 2023 causing the Toyota Corolla he was driving to collide with another vehicle of the same make and model.

Singh was carrying two passengers at the time while Jorja O’Connor was driving her 89-year-old grandfather Lewis Carnegie who was in the front passenger’s seat and his 87-year-old brother Peter along Clegg Rd.

Lewis Carnegie died at the Royal Melbourne Hospital less than three hours after the crash while his brother survived with serious injuries.

The impact of the collision caused Ms O’Connor’s vehicle to rotate and hit an embankment before rolling on to its roof.

Singh was heard at the scene telling police at the scene “I’m sorry, please tell them I’m sorry. Are they OK?”

Judge Hogan said Singh’s offending was a serious example of dangerous driving that resulted in a life so needlessly taken away.

“The sheer number of signs and markings on the road in the lead up to this collision makes this dangerous driving have a particular gravity.”

Judge Hogan said not only did he not stop, but that he did not look for traffic that had the right of way at the intersection.

“In sentencing you, this court must send a message to others in the community that do not pay heed to traffic signs and road markings and the surrounding circumstances when they are driving, and who enter an intersection without taking a proper look, that they will be appropriately punished,” Judge Hogan said.

“A person who kills or seriously injures another while driving dangerously should expect a significant term of imprisonment.

“Because the values of the community and what’s to be expected from those who hold the privilege of a driver’s licence while driving with the appropriate care for other road users must be upheld.”

The County Court has imposed a sentence of three years and nine months on Uber driver Anmoldeep Singh for dangerous driving causing death.

Impassioned victim impact statements from Ms O’Connor and her mother Ann were read out following Singh’s guilty pleas.

Ann O’Connor described the crash scene as a “war zone” that was burnt into her soul.

In her victim impact statement, she lamented the fact she could not be by her father’s side when he died and then had the horrible task of relaying the bad news to his injured uncle and daughter.

Her family was planning to celebrate her father’s 90th and her 50th late last year but said those milestones were ripped from underneath her.

Singh will be eligible for parole after serving Two-and-a-half years.