Judge to deliver verdict in March for man accused of fleeing lethal accident

Judge to rule on lethal hit-and-run Harmandeep Singh argues he couldn't avoid the car he hit, killing one person and injuring three more in 2018.

Montreal — A Brampton man accused of driving a freight truck into a sedan, killing one person and injuring three others, has insisted he did nothing wrong.

At his trial on Thursday, a judge heard closing arguments. A decision will be delivered on March 24.

In 2018, the Brampton man, trucker Harmandeep Singh, was driving on Highway 30 when he rear-ended a Chevy Cavalier carrying a family of Mexican tourists. The impact pushed the car into a lampost, killing passenger Rodrigo Ariel Garcia Ramos instantly.

Singh admitted to driving the truck but has said he couldn't avoid the car. It was travelling at 67 km per hour.

A GPS tracker on Singh's truck recorded him stopping briefly after the crash, though he said he couldn't call 911 because he didn't have his phone. He stopped and saw the victim, he said, before continuing and dropping off his damaged truck in a Lachine yard.

Singh's lawyer's said he stopped and helped those he injured, and only left after he was sure someone had called 911. Crown prosecutors insist the GPS data disproves that, but it's difficult to prove, they noted.

He was nervous and wanted to see his mother, he testified, so, a few hours after the crash, he boarded a plane for India with help from his brother in Brampton.

Singh on Wednesday told the court he didn't recall any facts involving damages to his truck or phone calls he made after the crash. He kept insisting he did nothing wrong.

Relatives of the victim sat in the courtroom.

"We don't want revenge," said Mikal Galindo, niece of the car's driver, who survived the crash but was seriously injured. "We want justice."