Akashdeep Singh fronts court over fatal collision

A drunken hoon who filmed himself speeding because ‘‘I could not get any attention in the real world” ploughed into a beloved grandmother after running a red light.

Much-loved grandmother Caroline Buttigieg was killed after a driver ran a red light at Point Cook and ploughed into her car.

A boozed-up hoon filmed his erratic driving as did more than twice the speed limit because he “couldn’t get any attention in the real world” before running a red light and killing an adored grandmother.

Akashdeep Singh fled the scene on Dunnings Rd in Point Cook after his Holden Commodore collided with a Volkswagen Golf, driven by 53-year-old Caroline Buttigieg.

Singh, 26, was jailed for a minimum of six years when he appeared in the County Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to culpable driving causing death and failing to render assistance after an accident.

Ms Buttigieg was returning home from dropping her severely autistic brother off when Singh ploughed into her car, just after 11pm on May 26, 2023 at the intersection of Dunnings Rd and Boardwalk Boulevard.

Singh fled the scene and was found by police an hour later hiding under a doona in his bedroom.

Akashdeep Singh fled the scene of a collision and was found by police hiding under a doona in his bedroom.

Court documents show early that evening, Singh shared a bottle of whisky with friends at home before he hit the road with a friend in the front passenger’s seat.

Shortly after turning into Dunnings Rd, Singh started filming from his mobile phone and about two seconds prior to the collision, he was driving at between 135km/h and 146km/h.

The traffic light had been red for about 29 seconds when Singh drove through it at 141km/h.

Ms Buttigieg’s car rolled and came to rest about 51m from the point of impact.

A motorist saw Singh being unsteady and confused with bloodshot eyes after the collision.

He had a blood alcohol reading of 0.140 two hours after the collision.

Ms Buttigieg died at The Royal Melbourne the next day.

On him filming while driving, Singh told a psychologist ‘‘I could not get any attention in the real world, so (I) got attention in the social media world”.

“Your conduct was entirely self focused and you had absolutely no regard to the safety of other road users, or your passenger,” Judge Trevor Wraight said.

He said in their victim impact statements, Ms Buttigieg’s husband and their two children spoke of a much loved and respected mother and wife who was a constant source of advice and support.

The maximum sentence imposed on Singh was 10 years’ imprisonment.