An Ontario truck driver who admitted to playing a game on his cellphone while driving and causing a deadly, seven-car pileup near Montreal has been sentenced to six years in prison. Quebec Court Judge Sacha Blais sentenced Baljeet Singh, who turns 30 on Saturday, Wednesday at the Longueuil courthouse, Noovo Info reported. The July 19, 2022, crash killed 42-year-old Nancy Lefrançois and her 11-year-old son, Loïc Chevalier, who were in the same car. Several other people were also injured in the collision on Highway 30 on Montreal’s South Shore. Taking into account the time Singh has already served in jail awaiting his trial, he will have to serve a sentence of four years, four months, and four days. The sentence, which aligns with both the Crown and defence had requested in a joint submission, also includes a 10-year driving ban. In April, Singh pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm. When he entered his plea, he admitted he was playing a game on his phone while driving a 53-foot tractor trailer on the highway in Brossard, Que. As traffic was coming to a crawl, he approached a construction zone near Grande-Allée Boulevard, but he failed to slow down in time, causing the crash. ‘Total lack of judgment’ In Wednesday’s ruling, the judge said his negligence was an aggravating factor, as was his use of a cellphone behind the wheel. “Mr. Singh’s driving on July 19, 2022, was negligent and demonstrated his disregard for the lives of others,” Justice Blais said. “Using [the phone] to play a video game shows a total lack of judgment.” Among the mitigating factors, the judge highlighted the fact that Singh had pleaded guilty and had no prior criminal record. The judge also noted that the court considered the man’s apologies and remorse — as he approaches his 30s — “to be sincere.” Nevertheless, the court ruled that Baljeet Singh’s sentence should fall “at the high end of the sentencing range,” since his crime had “devastating” consequences for the victims and their loved ones. Lefrançois was pronounced dead at the scene. She was driving her son, who died in hospital, and two other passengers. The mother and son had just celebrated their birthdays in the days prior to the crash. Her husband, Benoit Lavoie, suffered a collapsed lung, fractured ribs, a concussion, head trauma, and cuts to his scalp. He was in a coma for three weeks, causing him to miss his wife’s funeral. Truck driver fled to India before his arrest According to an agreed statement of facts, Singh voluntarily met with Sureté du Québec (SQ) investigators, telling them that he had no recollection of the collision. Hours after that meeting, he fled to India and deleted his social media accounts. A Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued the following year before he was finally arrested in the United States on Aug. 21, 2025. Once he was repatriated to Canada, he admitted several facts to the SQ about the crash, including that he was playing Ludo, a strategy-based online board game on his phone when the crash happened and that his eyes were not on the road. He also admitted the pile-up was his fault and wanted to be held accountable. “He expresses his regret to the victims, their loved ones, and his family,” according to the court document. Call logs from Singh’s cellphone showed that he was on a phone call with another man in the hour preceding the crash and that he often played online games with him. A review of the truck’s dash camera also showed that he committed more than 40 traffic violations during his last three trips and repeatedly used his cellphone while driving, weaved between lanes, and failed to take his mandatory rest periods, leading him to exceed the number of permitted driving hours. With files from Noovo Info
