"I told him he was going to kill someone": Daughter of jailed truck driver speaks
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The daughter of Mohinder Singh told her sleep-deprived, drug-affected father he was going to kill someone if he got behind the wheel.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A few hours later, the truck driver hit and killed four police officers on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway on April 22, 2020.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Singh’s daughter, Harpreet Bajwa, said she told him to stay home that night.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though it wasn’t uncommon for him to talk to his family about witches and ghosts, that day was different.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“His voice was racing, his pupils were bigger. He seemed pretty terrified.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Singh is expected to give evidence against his boss next month.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He’s also been charged with multiple breaches of heavy vehicle regulations, including allegedly needing Singh to work while fatigued.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Singh was jailed last month for up to 22 years for culpable driving that caused the officer’s deaths.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Singh’s wife, Amarjit Bajwa, and their son, Gurdeep Bajwa, also gave evidence about his behaviour on Monday.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The committal is expected to continue on Thursday.</span></p>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: 9NEWS</span></em></p>
