WPBN: On their way home after a team dinner celebration, two teenage tennis players were killed in a wrong-way car crash caused by a New York guy who has acknowledged to consuming cocaine and tequila.
On Friday, Amandeep Singh, 36, entered a guilty plea to DWI and aggravated vehicular murder in connection with the collision that claimed the lives of 14-year-old Drew Hassenbein and 14-year-old Ethan Falkowitz.
The accident occurred on May 3, 2023, in Jericho, Long Island. According to Long Island Newsday, which cited authorities, Singh had been in bars snorting cocaine and drinking tequila and scotch before driving.
Prosecutors said in a press statement that Singh struck a 2019 four-door Alfa Romeo carrying Drew, Ethan, and two other boys after driving south in the northbound lanes of North Broadway at high speeds in his Dodge Ram pickup truck. Ethan and Drew were instantaneously slain. After being admitted to the hospital, the other two lads recovered from their wounds.
Two more people were hurt when a second car was struck; they were given on-scene care and then released.
Singh was taken into custody after being seen hiding close to a dumpster in a neighboring shopping center’s parking lot. The moments before he was placed in an ambulance, transported to a hospital for a head injury, and then brought into custody were captured on police bodycam footage.
He said to authorities, “So what if I [expletive] drink and drive … maybe I did,” at one point in the video.
At the time of the collision, his blood alcohol content was reportedly 0.18, which is more than double the legal limit.
According to Stephen Fitzpatrick of the Nassau County Police Department, the guys were heading home from a restaurant following a tennis tournament.
For players under 14, Drew was ranked 38th in the US. Their instructor, Jay Harris, told local news station that the two were “amazing guys” and “best friends” who had been involved in the sport since they were five years old.
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According to a GoFundMe for Drew, he and his teammates had been returning from a Roslyn High School tennis celebration.
The fundraiser mentioned that Drew was a nationally rated 12-year-old tennis player and that the team was celebrating a win in which he won his match.
“Even though Drew was a nationally-ranked boys player, nothing meant more to him than being a part of the Roslyn tennis community and being with his friends,” according to the site. “Our family is devastated by his loss and is so appreciative of the incredible outpouring of support and people’s desire to help.”
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Drew’s family founded the Drew Hassenbein Foundation, which sponsors top juniors and introduces tennis to impoverished kids through lessons and scholarships.
The Ethan Falkowitz Foundation has also been established by Ethan’s family.
“He sought happiness in making others happy,” a GoFundMe set up in his memory stated. “Nothing was impossible. His outlook was filled with optimism and curiosity … He didn’t want to believe that there was ‘bad’ in the world. He stayed away from dangerous activities and could only be truly happy if those around him were happy. It is now our life’s mission to continue what Ethan started. One way or another, we will find a way out of this nightmare and make sure that Ethan’s legacy is cemented, not by his tragic death, but by his endless love for others.”
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