Drunk driver that killed two Long Island teens sentenced in wrong-way crash: ‘The definition of evil’
Heartbroken family members of the two 14-year-old boys who were killed by a drunk driver in a wrong-way drug-induced crash in Long Island blasted the man responsible for cutting their lives short as “evil” moments before he was hauled away to prison.
Hundreds of tearful friends and loved ones packed a Nassau County courtroom – and two overflow rooms – Friday as Amandeep Singh was sentenced to up to 25 years for the deaths of Roslyn Middle School eighth-graders Ethan Falkowitz and Drew Hassenbein on May 3, 2023.
“Instead of picking up my son at school, I had to identify him at the morgue. It’s inhuman torture,” Drew’s father, Mitch Hassenbein, said in court – calling Singh “the definition of evil.”
“I’m a broken, bitter, angry man, filled with a dark side, and trying to navigate a foreign world. You ripped the heart out of our family. He gave my son a death sentence, and all of us a life sentence.”
Hassenbein was one of nine people who delivered victim impact statements – many of whom slammed the court for a punishment they felt wasn’t long enough.
Singh was driving at 95 miles per hour against traffic on North Broadway – which has a speed limit of 40 miles per hour – when he slammed his 2019 Dodge Ram into the Alfa Romeo Drew and Ethan were riding in with a 16- and 17-year-old boy.
The 36-year-old was drunk and high on cocaine with a blood alcohol content of .15 – nearly twice the legal limit – with cops recovering a bottle of tequila from his truck.
The married father of two later fled the scene and hid behind a dumpster at a nearby shopping center, where he was busted by cops. Prosecutors said Singh was so drunk he thought he was in New Jersey.
“Amandeep Singh is not a man, he’s a coward and he’s a murderer. He deserved a much worse sentence than he received,” said Zachary Sheena, one of the teens who survived the wreck that totaled the SUV.
“He never apologized once and took every chance possible to try and get out of trouble. He’s a selfish coward. Drew and Ethan will never be forgotten. They were the definition of perfect.”
Sheena, who now suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, was behind the wheel of the smashed car. Drew and Ethan – seated on the right side in the front and back – took the brunt of the crash and were killed instantly.
The other two were injured in the crash.
Both of the slain boy’s mothers spoke through their tears as they expressed their “hate” for Singh.
“You stole my heart and soul,” Ethan’s mom, Lynn Falkowitz said, as Drew’s mother, Jaime Hassenbein, blamed the drunk driver for destroying her family and her son’s “bright future.”
“You took it all away, I hate you,” she said.
Singh pleaded guilty to a 15-count indictment in January that included manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, vehicular homicide, assault, driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident, among other counts.
Singh apologized for causing the horrific crash — admitting there is no excuse for his behavior.
“This was caused by my risky behavior, a careless choice and a tragic decision,” he told the court.
“I accept all the blame. I am guilty of every single thing that I’ve caused. I accept the punishment. Your anger towards me is fully understood and justified. I also condemn myself for the chaos I brought to your lives. I have to live with this on my conscience until the day I die.”
