The alleged drunk driver involved in the car crash that killed two Roslyn teenagers in early May pleaded not guilty Monday morning to the 15-count indictment he faces for his role in the wrong-way driving crash.
Roslyn resident Amandeep Singh, 34, was allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road at 95 mph with a blood alcohol count of 0.15 four hours after his arrest and cocaine in his system, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a press conference following his arraignment Monday. The speed limit posted in the area of the collision is 40 mph.
He faces a series of charges in the vehicular crash that killed young tennis star Drew Hassenbein and Ethan Falkowitz. Two other teenagers on the Roslyn Boys Varsity Tennis team were in the car and injured.
“Four bright, athletic teenagers with their whole life ahead of them,” Donnelly said.
The Nassau County DA has added two more charges to Singh’s indictment to include two additional misdemeanor assault charges, according to court documents unsealed Monday morning.
Singh was charged with multiple offenses, including aggravated vehicular homicide, assault, driving while intoxicated, driving while impaired by the combined influence of alcohol and a drug, reckless driving and a felony count of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting.
He faces a maximum of 32 years in prison if found guilty.
Singh appeared for his arraignment Monday morning at the Nassau County Court House. In attendance were more than a dozen family members and friends of Hassenbein and Falkowitz, and a dozen family members attending for Singh.
During the arraignment, Assistant DA Michael Bushwack said his office had provided Singh’s attorney, James Kousouros, with the DA’s discoveries on the case.
These included statements Singh made to law enforcement at the time of his arrest and while in custody and body camera footage from Nassau County Police. Donnelly said she was unable to share the details of the body camera footage during the press conference.
Kousouros said he had not received the items of discovery that morning, so he requested the matters to be suspended to next month’s court appearance.
Singh’s bail status was upheld and he remains in custody. Donnelly said her office hopes to keep him in custody until his trial or a plea deal is made.
Donnelly said that based on their investigation, Singh allegedly attended a party the afternoon of the day of the collision where he was drinking. After that, he allegedly went to other establishments where he continued to drink.
At 10:19 p.m. on May 3, Singh, suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, was speeding south in the northbound lane of North Broadway in Jericho when his truck struck the Alpha Romeo occupied by the four teenagers.
As a result of the collision, the Alpha Romeo then hit a 2023 Volvo occupied by a driver, 49, and a passenger, 16. Both were treated at the scene for minor injuries, according to police.
Donnelly said Singh fled the scene afterward and was found by law enforcement hiding near a dumpster in a nearby shopping center parking lot.
When approached by Nassau County Police, Singh asked them why they were there as he believed he was in New Jersey, Donnelly said.
“A reckless driver stole the lives of two extraordinary young men,” Donnelly said.
She expressed her deepest condolences to the Hassenbein and Falkowitz families, as well as their friends and the Roslyn community.
“Think before you drink,” Donnelly said. “Not only could you ruin someone else’s life, but you’ll also ruin your own.”
Singh was previously charged with driving while intoxicated as a youthful offender, meaning he was under the age of 19.
Singh was scheduled to appear in court again on July 25.