A speeding Indian driver who struck and killed an Adelaide mother-of-two has claimed he failed to help her after the crash because his turban flew off.
Bhupinder Singh, 24, was driving at speeds of up to 160km/h when he T-boned a Holden Commodore driven by Christine Sandford, 40, who was on her way back to her Windsor Gardens home after going out to buy oil to cook dinner on March 18, 2023.
Singh continually maintained his innocence and had planned to go to trial until suddenly pleading guilty last month to aggravated causing death by dangerous driving, and appeared in the South Australian District Court on Wednesday for sentencing submissions.
Judge Paul Muscat told the court Singh’s Ford Mustang had been going at extreme speeds of between 150 and 161km/h and noted that he did not render assistance at the scene, which was confirmed by the prosecution.
But Singh’s lawyer Paul D’Angelo told the court the killer driver’s Sikh headwear was to blame, 7 News reported.
“Mr client’s turban had flown off his head, he was in a state of shock,” he told the court.
“As a Sikh it’s almost like being naked in public.”
Judge Muscat also noted that Singh had lied to police after the crash by telling them he had been travelling at the speed limit.
“That cannot be true, obviously,” the judge said.
Ms Sandford was only minutes from home when her car was struck by Singh’s, causing it to spin out of control and leaving it a mangled wreck, and her daughter said in a victim impact statement she had lost the one person who had loved her unconditionally.
Singh will appear in court again next week for further sentencing submissions, and while he was released on bail on Wednesday the judge warned him he was likely to be remanded in custody after they concluded.
Just last month another killer Indian driver was spared jail in the same court despite killing a young father while making an illegal turn.
And last year an Indian truck driver who ran a red light in Adelaide and killed a Chinese tourist was also allowed to serve his sentence of three years and four months in home detention.
Header image: Left, Bhupinder Singh outside court. Right, Singh with police after the crash (7 News).
