Truck driver Mohinder Singh jailed for at least 18 years for killing four police in Melbourne crash
Truck driver Mohinder Singh has been jailed for at least 18 years and six months for hitting and killing four police officers on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway.
Singh was short on sleep and high on drugs when he crashed a 19-tonne semi-trailer into the officers who had pulled over Porsche driver Richard Pusey on 22 April last year.
Constable Lynette Taylor, senior constable Kevin King and constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney died at the scene.
The 48-year-old was jailed in Victoria’s supreme court on Wednesday for 22 years, with a non-parole period of 18 year and six months.
Justice Paul Coghlan said the crash had “shocked the public conscience” and and described footage of the incident as chilling.
“The grief of those close to the victims is profound and life-changing,” Coghlan told the court.
“Such grief is heightened by the sudden and unnecessary nature of the deaths. We can only hope ... as time goes by, some amelioration of their suffering can come about.”
Singh had been using and trafficking drugs in the lead up to the crash, and was “talking nonsense” about being chased by witches earlier that day.
He previously pleaded guilty in Victoria’s supreme court to four counts of culpable driving causing death, three charges of drug trafficking and one of possessing drugs.
King’s widow, Sharron MacKenzie, told the court her life had been reduced to an “ocean of tears and sleepless nights”.
“I still feel the devastation and absolute heartbreak when I told my children their father and hero would not be coming home,” she said.
“For the first time in my life I understood the feeling of choking pain – deep and utter despair.”
Taylor’s husband, Stuart Schulze, said he would never forget the “dreadful spectre” of three officers at his door that day.
Humphris’ partner, Todd Robinson, said Singh took away the most important person in his life, while Const Prestney’s brother, Alex, said his sibling died “without dignity”.