The driver accused of hitting and killing a 2-year-old in a stroller on the Hopple Street viaduct has been indicted. Satwinder Singh is accused of driving under the influence, jumping the curb and striking Dameon Turner, Jr., on December 30, 2018. Singh faces charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and failure to stop after an accident.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters says just eight days earlier, Singh was in court in Campbell County, Ky., for driving under the influence. "In light of the fact he was under suspension, told not to drive, told not to do drugs and alcohol, and he continued to do it is reprehensible."
Deters says if convicted, Singh faces up to 14 years in prison. He says that's not enough. "These prosecutors who are on this case looked long and hard at trying to put this guy away forever, and we just don't have the charges to do that. Hopefully Kentucky can add on."
Police say Singh had a mixture of drugs, fentanyl, cocaine and opiates in his system at the time of the crash, and had to be revived with Narcan when officers found him.
Pedestrian safety has been the focus of both Cincinnati council and school board meetings in the last month. Police Chief Eliot Isaac says there are a couple of factors at work in rising numbers of pedestrian injuries and deaths. "I've seen people paying more attention to their cell phones," Isaac says. "There's a lot of distracted driving. And yes, we see a lot of OVIs (operating a vehicle under the influence) that are coming from the opioid epidemic as well."
