The accused drunk driver charged in a brutal head-on crash that killed two 14-year-old boys on Long Island claimed he was a millionaire and begged cops not to tell his wife he’d been partying with women, prosecutors said Monday.
Amandeep Singh, 34, even thought he was actually in New Jersey when cops caught up to him after the May 3 wreck that left the Roslyn Middle School eighth-graders dead and two others hurt, prosecutors said following his Nassau County Court arraignment on a 15-count indictment.
“Two 14-year-old boys, Drew Hassenbein and Ethan Falkowitz, lost their lives in an instant because of a drunk driver,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said at a press conference.
“It was a catastrophic crash that miraculously the defendant was able to survive relatively unscathed,” Donnelly said. “But he didn’t stay at the scene to face the accountability for the destruction he had just caused. He fled the scene on foot.”
Donnelly said Singh hid behind a dumpster at a nearby shopping center, where he was busted by cops.
Amandeep Singh, 34, was arraigned on a 15-count indictment in Nassau County Court on Monday. Dennis A. Clark for NY Post
Singh was allegedly drunk when prosecutors said he slammed his pickup truck into a sedan with four teenagers inside. Dennis A. ClarkShe said Singh, who has a prior drunken-driving arrest as a minor, told police that he was wealthy and begged them not to tell his wife that he had been out partying with women.
Allegedly still in a drunken stupor, he asked, “What are you guys doing here? Aren’t we in New Jersey?”
Cops said they later found a bottle of tequila in his truck.
Amandeep Singh appeared in front of Judge Helene Gugerty in Nassau County Criminal Court in Mineola on Monday. Dennis A. Clark
Singh was charged with drunken driving and manslaughter in the fatal head-on crash that killed two 14-year-old boys. Dennis A. Clark
Family members cry during a press conference held by Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly after Amandeep Singh’s court appearance. Dennis A. Clark
Family of the teen boys, as well as Singh’s own family, packed the courthouse Monday. Dennis A. Clark“Four hours after the crash the defendant’s blood alcohol content was allegedly .15 and also revealed the presence of cocaine,” Donnelly said. The legal limit is less than .08.
She said Singh had been driving at 95 mph against traffic on North Broadway — which has a speed limit of 40 mph — when his 2019 Dodge Ram slammed into the Alfa Romeo that Drew and Ethan were riding in with a 16- and 17-year-old boy.
The boys’ friends and relatives packed the courtroom Monday.
Drew Hassenbein, 14, was riding in a 2019 Alfa Romeo sedan with three pals on May 3 when a pickup truck slammed the car head-on in Jericho, killing Drew and his friend Ethan Falkowitz. Todd Widom/Facebook
Ethan Falkowitz, 14, was also killed when Singh’s pickup truck slammed the car head-on in Jericho. Tyler Hill Camp/FacebookEast Hills Village Trustee Brian Myerson said the families were doing “absolutely terrible.”
“This is just a nightmare that no family should have to go through,” he said.
Singh, who is being held without bail, also had supporters in the courtroom, including his family.
“He’s got a very, very strong support system,” defense attorney James Kousouros said outside the courtroom. “Several relatives, his wife, his father, his aunts, uncles.
“You know he’s a human being who is hurting tremendously right now,” Kousouros said. “[He] understands the pain and anguish that the family is going through. So, he’s in this state of waiting to see what the evidence is, how we are going to proceed. It’s a very difficult time for him and his family.”
Singh is charged with manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, vehicular homicide, assault, driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident, among other counts.
He pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on July 25.
