The truck driver was speeding and crashed into multiple cars stopped at a red light, killing a 24-year-old man, the DA says.
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SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A man was indicted in connection with a Hauppauge crash that killed a man last July, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said Friday.
Jaswinder Singh, 52, of Bellrose, Queens, faces a criminally negligent homicide charge, among other charges, after he drove a sanitation truck at an unreasonable speed and crashed into multiple vehicles that had been stopped at a red light on the South Service Road of the Long Island Expressway, the DA said.
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Joseph Kelly, 24, of West Islip, who was in one of the other vehicles, died in the crash, Tierney said.
“This defendant, who was allegedly driving a 19-ton truck, had a responsibility to drive prudently and cautiously,” Tierney said in a news release. “Instead, he is alleged to have been speeding, causing him to crash into a line of cars stopped at the traffic light, resulting in the loss of Joseph Kelly’s life. Today’s indictment reflects the solemn duty of law enforcement to hold individuals accountable for their actions, particularly if their alleged crime results in the loss of life.”
On July 3, 2023, Singh was driving a sanitation truck from Brooklyn to a commercial building in Suffolk County, where it was to be outfitted before being put into service with the New York City Department of Sanitation, prosecutors said. Around 8:50 a.m., Singh, who was headed east on the Long Island Expressway, exited at Exit 57 onto Express Drive South in Hauppauge, authorities said.
Singh continued to drive on Express Drive South at a “high rate of speed” as he approached a steady red light where cars were stopped, officials said. Singh failed to slow down or apply the brakes of the truck, causing him to crash into the back of multiple vehicles that had been stopped in front of him, and “barrel through” the red light at the intersection, the DA said.
The 38,900-pound garbage truck first collided with a Honda Civic that was being driven by Kelly, causing a chain reaction of multiple car crashes, investigators said. Kelly died on impact, officials said. The multi-car collision damaged five vehicles, including a school bus, and left a debris field of approximately 300 feet, authorities said.
Singh was arraigned Friday on one count of criminally negligent homicide, two counts of third-degree assault, one count of reckless driving, and one count of speeding not reasonable and prudent, a traffic infraction.
Singh was ordered to surrender his passport, his driver’s license was suspended, and he was placed on supervised release. He is due back in court on May 17 and is being represented by the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society.
Singh faces one and one-third to four years in prison if convicted of the top count.
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