An Indian truck driver who knew he suffered from blackouts got behind the wheel anyway, fatally striking a Chinese tourist after running a red light in Adelaide.
Jagmeet Singh, 32, intially claimed in a television interview days after the February 2023 crime that he did not “know what happened, it was a blink of my eye”, but later pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
His lawyer told the South Australian District Court on Friday that Singh, who drove through a light that had been red for eight seconds and ploughed into Negguang Wen, 64, “had an episode where he blacked out”, 7 News reported.
“He knew he had this issue, he drove anyway,” Andrew Culshaw told the court, saying that Singh came to Australia to finish a medical degree and had wanted to “devote his life to saving people”.
In a letter of apology to Mr Wen’s family Singh said he was consumed by grief daily.
“My remorse, hurt and pain for Mr Wen’s death will rightly remain with me forever and has impacted my own mental health,” he said.
“But I fully understand that what I am going through at the moment can’t compare to the hurt that Mr Wen’s death has caused to his family.”
Mr Culshaw asked Judge Ian Press to suspend any prison sentence he decides to impose.
Mr Wen’s daughter in March urged Judge Press to impose a harsh sentence that would be a deterrent to others.
Singh will be sentenced in August.
A court has heard an aspiring doctor who ran a red light on South Road killing a much-loved grandfather should not have been behind the wheel. Jagmeet Singh had been suffering regular blackouts. @DeeWilliams7 #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/IKCyYTaUGV
— 7NEWS Adelaide (@7NewsAdelaide) May 24, 2024
