48-year-old Melbourne truck driver, Mohinder Singh, responsible for the deaths of four Victoria Police officers on Eastern Freeway has been jailed for 22 years.
He was sentenced in Victoria’s Supreme Court this morning.
Justice Paul Coghlan has described the footage of the horror crash as “chilling” during the sentencing.
“I have viewed the footage on a number of occasions and it is chilling.”
According to reports in the Australian media, Mohinder Singh pleaded 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.
Mohinder Singh must serve at least 18 years and six months behind bars before he is eligible for parole.
On April 22 last year, he was high on drugs (ice) and stopped on his route to do a drug deal.
Later he veered into the emergency lane of the Eastern freeway near in Kew killing four officers.
Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King and constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney all died in this incident.
The officers had pulled over Porsche driver Richard Pusey for allegedly speeding at the time.
According to reports, CCTV cameras showed footage of Mohinder Singh “repeatedly drifting” into the emergency lane.
Justice Coghlan added that Mohinder Singh was clearly “unfit” to drive.
“It has been put that the threat to you was that you might lose your job. 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.”
According to Nine News, Mohinder Singh, father of two, remained silent throughout the hearing.
He was led out of the courtroom directly in front of the victims’ families.
Andrew Prestney, the father of Constable Josh Prestney, read out a statement in court following the sentencing.
“We would like to thank the people of Victoria, the people of Australia, and those from around the world for their outpouring of love and for embracing us with their hearts. We are consoled by the fact that our four will not be forgotten as we continue to carry them in our hearts.”
