Truckie Mohinder Singh gets 22 years for killing Vic cops

Truck driver Mohinder Singh, 48, will spend 22 years in prison for killing four Victorian police officers.

The deadly crash occurred Eastern Freeway crash last year on April 22. Singh was high on crystal meth.

Handing down the sentence the Victorian Supreme Court said Singh will be eligible for parole in 18 and a half years.

Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King and constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney were attending to a motorist stopped for speeding when Singh ploughed his 20-tonne prime mover into the emergency lane where they were parked.

Singh, father of two, was reportedly functioning on 5 hours of rest in the three days leading up to the crash.

The ice-user was “actively psychotic” and claimed to have seen a witch before mowing down the officers.

He had also stopped to conduct a drug deal before the horrific incident.

Mohinder Singh was charged after pleading guilty to four counts of culpable driving causing death, three charges of trafficking a drug of dependence, and one charge of possession of a drug of dependence.

Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan who presided over Mohinder Singh’s case said he had viewed the “chilling” footage of the crash multiple times.

He called Singh “selfish” for prioritising his job over the safety of those travelling on the freeway and found that the police officers’ deaths were “entirely unnecessary and should have been avoided.”

“Their deaths were caused by you,” Justice Coghlan said, as per a 9 News report. “You were simply unfit to do the job and had little legitimate claim to keep your position. In the sense you drove to keep your job, that decision was selfish.”

Families of the officers that were killed in the crash were present in court to hear Mohinder Singh’s plea and statement regarding their slain relatives.

After the sentencing, Constable Prestney’s father read a statement outside court on behalf of the four families. The grieving families thanked everyone who had contributed to justice being served yet stated that “no amount of punishment” would bring them any closure, the daily reported.

The full statement from the families of the four fallen police officers who died after a drug-affected truck driver crashed into them on the side of the Eastern Freeway last year. Their names are Lynette Taylor, Josh Prestney, Kevin King, Glen Humphris. @newscomauHQ pic.twitter.com/rZkrQ34lWM

— Rohan Smith (@Ro_Smith) April 14, 2021

“Even though justice has now been served in relation to the actual collision, no amount of punishment can replace the loss of our loved ones and the missing place at our tables that will be felt by us for the rest of our lives,” Andrew Prestney said.