Witness claims Mohinder Singh was ‘confused’ day before Eastern Freeway tragedy
The boss of a truckie who ploughed into four police officers on the Eastern Freeway received a text about his mental state hours before the horror crash.
Police & Courts
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The manager of a truck driver who killed four police officers in the Eastern Freeway tragedy was warned by another colleague that he should not be driving.
Mohinder Singh was last month jailed for 22 years for culpable driving causing the deaths of Victoria police members Lynette Taylor, Kevin King, Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney in the deadly crash on April 22 last year.
His boss Simiona Tuteru, 49, the Victorian manager of Connect Logistics, is now facing court on charges of manslaughter after police allege he failed in his duty to stop Singh from driving when knowing he was fatigued.
A series of text messages tendered to the court reveal the trucking company’s night shift supervisor, Stephen Harrison, had sent a message to Mr Tuteru at 1.38pm on the day of the crash expressing his concerns about Singh from his night shift the evening before.
Mr Harrison said: “I am concerned about his mental state. He was putting trucks on wrong docks and he had a sleep on the way back from Thomastown and slept in.
“I don’t think he should be driving. I told him to go to the doctors straight away.”
Mr Harrison told Mr Tuteru “I will leave with you to maybe make contact with him”.
Mr Tuteru simply replied: “Will speak to him.”
At 4.37pm that afternoon, Mr Tuteru messaged Mr Harrison to say he was going to get Singh to do a delivery of Inghams poultry to Thomastown.
“He will let me know how he feels after,” Mr Tuteru wrote.
An hour later, Singh, 48, veered into the emergency lane and ploughed into the officers, who had stopped Richard Pusey for speeding in his Porsche.
Mr Harrison, giving evidence on Tuesday in a Melbourne Magistrates Court hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence for Mr Tuteru to stand trial, said he had never been concerned about Singh before.
He also had no suspicions that Singh was on drugs.
Mr Harrison said Singh did not appear sleepy but rather “confused” on the morning of the crash when they both signed off from the night shift just before 4am.
“He didn’t look tired and looked not frustrated, but confused,” Mr Harrison told the court.
“He said to me that he could remember a date from the war. It’s the only thing I thought ‘Oh, that’s a bit strange’.”
Mr Harrison said he told Singh to go home and see a doctor.
He then claims he later texted Mr Tuteru to raise his concerns “about his mental state” and that Singh had told him “he is not in a good spot”.
It comes after Singh’s daughter Harpreet Bajwa, 21, told the court on Monday she had urged her dad to stay home the day of the crash because “I thought he was going to kill someone if he drove”.
She said he was rambling about seeing ghosts, aliens and witches.
Mr Tuteru is facing 82 charges including four counts of manslaughter over the deaths of the four police officers, with police alleging he insisted Singh drive despite being aware of his deteriorating mental state.
The hearing, before magistrate Luisa Bazzani, continues.
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