Windsor judge excludes driver statement to police in dangerous driving trial

A screenshot of the dashcam footage of the 2022 collision that killed two people. (Provided to CTV News Windsor)

Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find disturbing. Reader’s discretion is advised.

A Windsor judge has excluded the driver’s statement to police in a dangerous driving trial connected to a 2022 double fatal.

Lovepreet Singh, 29, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of dangerous driving causing death.

On Sept. 23, 2022, two people died after their car was struck from behind by a transport trailer on Highway 401 near Belle River Road.

In a roadside statement to police and paramedics, Singh allegedly said two vehicles merged in front of him and came to a dead stop, leaving him without enough time to stop.

The force of the collision caused both the transport truck and the sedan to catch fire.

Three people driving in an SUV ahead of the sedan were three other members of the same family, travelling from Windsor to Toronto together.

The driver and two passengers in the SUV all told police the transport came up on them, in the far-right slow lane “very, very fast” as traffic slowed ahead.

Its clear in dashcam video shown to the court the traffic is approaching a construction zone in the eastbound lanes of the 401.

Hospital statement inadmissible

Singh was taken to hospital by paramedics for burns to his arms and right hand.

Four hours after the collision, an OPP officer was sent to Windsor Regional Hospital’s Ouellette campus to conduct an interview with Singh.

Singh had been treated, was stable, and ready to be discharged at the time.

He told police a similar story to that as the roadside statement; the vehicle in front merged too late to brake.

However, the defence argued, and the judge agreed, that statement should be inadmissible.

No secondary caution

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms requires police give a “secondary caution”; a person should be warned anything they say could be used against them, if they have previously given a statement to an authority or official.

Court learned Wednesday that OPP officer Jason Hillier did not give Singh that specific caution.

Hillier did, the court acknowledged, repeatedly caution Singh that he didn’t have to talk, that he could get a lawyer and that he was free to leave at any point during their six-minute conversation.

Hillier told the court he didn’t have a specific reason for why he forgot to give the secondary caution.

Justice Bruce Thomas said it “always struck me as odd”, that officers don’t read the caution card verbatim.

“It’s a simple exercise,” the judge noted.

“It’s so simple for an officer holding a card to read it. And he didn’t.”

As a result, Justice Thomas ruled the hospital statement inadmissible, and he will not give it any weight when considering the judgment for Singh.

The trial of Lovepreet Singh continues, but not until Friday because of availability of the next crown witness.