CINCINNATI — A grand jury on Wednesday indicted a driver in the death of a 2-year-old boy on the Hopple Street Viaduct.
Police say the driver, 31-year-old Satwinder Singh, was impaired when he lost control of his Dodge Ram pickup on the Hopple Street Viaduct Sunday afternoon, jumped the curb and struck Dameon Turner Jr. as he was being pushed in a stroller. Dameon died at the hospital on Dec. 31.
Singh stands charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and leaving the scene. He could face 14 years in prison if convicted, but Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters says that’s not enough.
Deters said prosecutors would contact Kentucky officials about the possibility of elevating Singh’s charges. Singh was arrested in Campbell County, Kentucky on Dec. 22 and charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and other charges related to registration plates and insurance. His license was suspended after that incident.
“These prosecutors back here that are on this case … they looked long and hard at trying to put this guy away forever, and we just don’t have the charges to do that,” Deters said.
Deters said Singh’s “recklessness is “beyond belief.”
“This is the most tragic situation,” Deters said. “It truly feeds into the fact that we have a serious problem with opiates, and this little boy sadly died because of this.
Assistant Prosecutor David Wood said last week that officials gave Singh Narcan after the crash because he started to fall asleep while he was being interviewed by police. The Narcan had a positive effect, Wood said, indicating he was “under the influence of serious drugs."
Singh is being held on a $1 million bond.
