'Ontario' trucker who caused deadly Montreal pile-up sentenced to six years

An "Ontario" truck driver has been sentenced to six years in prison after he admitted to playing games on his phone when he caused a deadly seven-car pileup near Montreal in July 2022. Baljeet Singh, turning 30 on Saturday and originally from India, was found guilty by a Quebec court for the killing of 11-year-old Loïc Chevalier and his mother, 42-year-old Nancy Lefrançois, as well as injuring multiple other people.Lefrançois was pronounced dead on the scene, and Chevalier was later pronounced dead at the hospital; the two had recently just celebrated their birthdays.Lefrançois' husband, Benoit Lavoie, who was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash, was in a coma for three weeks and suffered a collapsed lung, fractured ribs, a concussion, and head trauma.As a result of the coma, he also missed his wife's funeral.In court in April, Singh had pled guilty to dangerous driving causing death as well as dangerous driving causing bodily harm. During the guilty plea he admitted that, at the time of the crash, he was distracted because he was playing a mobile game on his phone.As traffic approached a construction zone and subsequently slowed down, Singh was evidently too distracted with his phone to realize the change in traffic speed and was unable to stop in time, crashing into the traffic in front of him.."Mr. Singh’s driving on July 19, 2022, was negligent and demonstrated his disregard for the lives of others," said Justice Sacha Blais. "Using (his phone) to play a video game shows a total lack of judgment.”Blais stated that, despite Singh showing "sincere" remorse, his sentence should reflect the "devastating" nature of his actions and his irresponsible behaviour behind the wheel of a 53-foot tractor trailer.It was also acknowledged that Singh had fled the country after initially speaking to Quebec police after the incident, where he claimed he "had no recollection" of the accident.After fleeing to India, a nation-wide arrest warrant was issued before Singh was arrested in the United States in August of 2025 and subsequently repatriated to Canada.After his arrest Singh admitted that he had been playing an online version of the popular Indian board game Ludo at the time of the crash.Logs from his phone also showed that Singh had been on the phone with another man in the hour before the crash, and Singh had admitted to having played online games with the same man in the past.The truck's dashcam footage also showed that Singh had committed more than 40 traffic violations in his last three trips alone. Violations included repeatedly using his phone while driving, failing to take his mandatory rest periods, and dangerous driving such as weaving between lanes.

'Ontario' trucker who caused deadly Montreal pile-up sentenced to six years

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