Amandeep Singh, of Roslyn, expected to plead guilty in wrong-way DWI crash that killed 2 teens in Jericho in 2023, sources say

A Roslyn man accused of killing two teenage tennis stars in a wrong-way drug and alcohol-impaired crash in 2023 is expected to plead guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges Friday in Nassau County Court, sources said.

Amandeep Singh, 36, a construction executive who prosecutors said had been drinking heavily and using cocaine the night of the crash, agreed last week to change his plea to guilty on the top charge in exchange for a sentence of 8⅓ to 25 years in prison, the sources said.

The agreement would end nearly two years of legal wrangling by Singh and his attorneys and allow him to avoid an additional 7 years behind bars for fleeing the scene of the crash that killed Roslyn middle schoolers Drew Hassenbein and Ethan Falkowitz, both 14.

"Is it fair?" Mitch Hassenbein, Drew’s father, said Tuesday of the potential for reduced prison time. "It will never be fair."

"My son was an amazing kid. He gave my son a permanent sentence. He gave us all — and his family a life sentence," Hassenbein said.

Nassau prosecutors said Singh spent the evening of May 3, 2023, drinking Scotch and tequila and snorting cocaine at three bars before getting behind the wheel of his red 2021 Dodge Ram TRX pickup. He reportedly hit speeds over 90 mph south in the northbound lanes of North Broadway in Jericho before hitting a 2019 four-door Alfa Romeo carrying Drew and Ethan.

The impact flipped the truck and sent it skidding down the road on its side. Investigators said they found a bottle of Casamigos tequila under the seat.

Singh fled the scene, police said.

Nassau police officers canvassing the area found Singh several hundred feet away, hiding in the loading bay of a nearby mall next to a dumpster.

Body camera footage obtained exclusively by Newsday showed him disoriented, slurring his speech and lying to the officers about his involvement in the crash.

He initially said an injury from the crash came from an unidentified assailant, the recording shows.

Police arrested Singh after a witness identified him as the driver who took off. Singh continued to speak to investigators even after he was informed of his right to remain silent.

"So what if I [expletive] drink and drive ... maybe I did," he said on the video.

Singh also questioned whether the driver of the boys’ car was impaired.

In the recording, Singh started to grapple with the ramifications of the crash.

"Yeah, my life is done, man," he said in the video. "Bro, all the hard work I did. Whatever I was doing my whole life, Right? I’m 35 years old, man. I worked very hard in my life. I worked very hard in my life for my kids, for my family. It’s [expletive] done in one second?"

Over the next two years, Singh fought the charges, even turning down a plea agreement similar to the one he is expected to take on Friday.

"He's evaluating all of his options," his lawyer Edward Sapone told Newsday at the time.

Sapone and co-counsel James Kousouros were successful in blocking from court a segment of the body camera footage, but state Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty ruled in October that most of it would be admissible at trial, which is scheduled to begin in February.

Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment on a possible plea agreement. Sapone also said he would not comment.

The death of the two boys sent shock waves throughout Roslyn and youth tennis leagues in New York and beyond.

Both middle schoolers played on the Roslyn High School varsity tennis team.

Drew had been ranked No. 1 in the country for boys under 12 years old at the time. Ethan made the high school team as a starter in his eighth grade year.

Nassau County Det. Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, commanding officer of the Nassau County Police Department's Homicide Squad, called it "one of the most catastrophic scenes I have seen in a long time."

Gary Falkowitz, Ethan’s father, pushed Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Grieving Families Act, a change that would allow surviving families to seek damages in wrongful death cases. She vetoed the bill after strong opposition from physicians, hospitals and insurance companies who said it would increase liability insurance premiums and costs to consumers. The governor said more negotiation was needed before she'd sign the measure.

Hassenbein lauded Nassau County prosecutor Michael Bushwack, the district attorney’s vehicular crimes bureau chief, but faulted state law he said prevented Singh from getting a stiffer punishment.

"The maximum penalties have to be significantly higher. When you are that drunk and that high, your car is a weapon," Hassenbein said. "This was not an accident."

He said that throughout the two-year ordeal, Singh’s family never reached out to offer condolences.

"No remorse. No nothing. Zero," he said. "After he exhausted every option he’s pleading guilty ... Hopefully, wherever he ends up, he finds some accountability."