"I told him he was going to kill someone": Daughter of jailed truck driver speaks
The daughter of Mohinder Singh told her sleep-deprived, drug-affected father he was going to kill someone if he got behind the wheel.
A few hours later, the truck driver hit and killed four police officers on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway on April 22, 2020.
Singh’s daughter, Harpreet Bajwa, said she told him to stay home that night.
Though it wasn’t uncommon for him to talk to his family about witches and ghosts, that day was different.
“The way he was acting that day scared me and I told him he was going to kill someone if he drove,” she told Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday, May 17.
“His voice was racing, his pupils were bigger. He seemed pretty terrified.”
The 21-year-old gave evidence on the first day of a committal hearing against trucking boss Simiona Tuteru, who faces 82 charges including manslaughter.
The hearing is expected to examine how much the Connect Logistics manager knew about Singh’s impaired state and whether he did anything to encourage him to drive.
Singh is expected to give evidence against his boss next month.
The charges Tuteru faces include four counts of manslaughter of Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, and constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney.
He’s also been charged with multiple breaches of heavy vehicle regulations, including allegedly needing Singh to work while fatigued.
Other charges include obtaining financial advantage by deception, when time sheets were allegedly submitted under a fake name to hide the real numbers of hours worked.
Singh was jailed last month for up to 22 years for culpable driving that caused the officer’s deaths.
When he crashed a 19-tonne semi-trailer into the emergency lane where police were dealing with speeding driver Richard Pusey, Singh was high on drugs and short on sleep.
Singh’s daughter said she didn’t realise he was taking drugs, but noticed the decline in his mental health in the lead-up to the crash.
Singh’s wife, Amarjit Bajwa, and their son, Gurdeep Bajwa, also gave evidence about his behaviour on Monday.
The committal is expected to continue on Thursday.
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