House arrest for ex-trucker who killed driver

WINNIPEG — A former truck driver who was responsible for a fatal highway crash that killed a 34-year-old father will not go to jail.

Instead, in a decision released last week, King’s Bench Justice Shane Perlmutter ruled that Sukhbir Singh, 34, be sentenced to two years of house arrest for the February 2020 collision.

“There is no doubt … that Mr. Singh is deterred by his conduct and the risk of reoffending remains very low,” Perlmutter said as he rejected the Crown’s recommendation to sentence Singh to 18 months in jail.

“In my view … it would not be in the long-term interests of society at large to take Mr. Singh — who Crown counsel concedes is an exemplary member of society — and incarcerate him,” Perlmutter said, noting there is a “strong likelihood” Singh will be deported to India upon completing his sentence.

Singh was behind the wheel of a heavy-duty semi-trailer truck, heading south on Highway 13 when he drove through a stop sign at the intersection of Highway 2 and collided with Andrew Labossiere’s eastbound pickup truck, sending it into a ditch. Labossiere died at the scene.

At the time, Singh had been driving a truck for just seven months. Court heard he now works as a mechanic.

Dozens of support letters provided to court describe Singh as a community-minded, caring man who came to Canada in 2019 to make a better life for his young family.

Labossiere’s son, who was eight when his dad was killed, said he has been deprived of a father’s love and guidance when he needs it most.

“I was young when he passed and lost out on a lot of time to get to know my father,” the boy said in a victim impact statement read out by his mother at a sentencing hearing in January. “Now I can only learn through the stories that people tell.”

Singh was convicted of dangerous driving causing death following a trial in 2023. That conviction was overturned and a new trial was ordered after the Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled the trial judge, when delivering his decision, made repeated reference to a photo exhibit showing a reduced speed-zone sign. That particular sign, however, was on Highway 2, not Highway 13, the one Singh was driving on.

Singh admitted at his first trial he drove through the stop sign but argued he was not guilty of dangerous driving as his driving did not represent a “marked departure” from the standard of care expected of a reasonable person.

Singh argued it was dark, he had reduced his speed, was unfamiliar with the road, was not distracted by his cellphone or intoxicated, and signs warning about the intersection were close together, all pointing to a “momentary lapse of attention,” not the marked departure required for a dangerous driving conviction.

At Singh’s retrial last year, defence lawyer Kate Smith argued an RCMP collision reconstructionist made several critical errors, including mistakenly documenting road signs and rumble strips that were on the opposite side of the highway to which Singh was travelling — errors that went undiscovered until after the officer had testified at the first trial.

Crown attorney Nick Reeves argued uncontested evidence before the court clearly established Singh’s guilt.

Court heard Singh was travelling 100 kilometres per hour on Highway 13 when he started reducing his speed in advance of the intersection at Highway 2. A blinking red light sat atop a stop sign at the intersection, which was further illuminated by road lights. Rumble strips and a warning sign situated 250 metres before the intersection notified drivers of the upcoming stop sign.

Singh had turned off his cruise control and reduced his speed to 86 km/h when he drove through the intersection. It was only then that Singh applied his brakes.

Perlmutter convicted Singh, finding he had ignored multiple warning signals prior to the crash.

» Winnipeg Free Press