Montreal (Canada): A 29-year-old Canadian truck driver of Punjabi origin has pleaded guilty in a fatal road accident that claimed the lives of a woman and her young son, after admitting he was distracted by a mobile game while behind the wheel.
The accused, Baljit Singh, confessed in court that he was playing Ludo on his phone when his tractor-trailer rammed into slow-moving traffic on Highway 30 in Brossard, Quebec, on July 19, 2022.
According to court proceedings, the truck—measuring approximately 53 feet in length—failed to slow down despite ongoing construction work that had reduced traffic speed. The collision triggered a chain reaction involving multiple vehicles. In the crash, 42-year-old Nancy Lefrançois and her 11-year-old son Loïc Chevalier lost their lives on the spot, while several others sustained serious injuries. The woman’s husband survived but suffered multiple fractures.
Investigators revealed that Singh had been using his phone repeatedly before the crash, checking it nearly 18 times within an hour. He also admitted that playing games while driving was not an isolated incident and that he had engaged in similar behavior numerous times in the past.
Forensic findings presented in court showed that the driver had less than a second—around 0.35 seconds—to react before impact, a window he missed due to distraction.
Following the accident, Singh was treated at a hospital and discharged the next day. Police said he initially claimed he did not remember the incident. However, within hours of his release, he left Canada and travelled to India, eventually relocating to the United States.
An international warrant was issued against him in 2023. He was later arrested by US authorities in California in August 2025 and extradited back to Canada the following month to face trial.
The case is being heard in a court in Montreal, where Singh has now admitted to dangerous driving causing death. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 4, 2026, and could face life imprisonment.
Authorities said dashcam footage recovered from the truck, which reportedly shows the driver using his phone during the journey, has been submitted as evidence in court but has not been released publicly due to ongoing legal proceedings.
