Drunk driver who uttered stone-cold two-word response after killing two children learns his fate

A drunk driver who killed two fourteen-year-old boys in 2023 was sentenced to 100 months to 25 years in prison on Friday. 

Amandeep Singh, 36, crashed into a car carrying four teenage tennis players on the night of May 3, 2023, instantly killing Drew Hassenbein and Ethan Falkowitz. 

Singh attempted to flee the scene and hid in a dumpster near a parking lot in Long Island, New York, according to a press release from the District Attorney’s Office in Nassau County. 

Body camera footage from police later revealed that Singh denied that he was driving the Dodge Ram that killed the teens. 

The footage also captured Singh telling officers, ‘So what?!’ when asked if he had been drinking. 

‘So what if I [expletive] drink and drive … maybe I did,’ he told police. Singh was high on cocaine when he crashed into the young teens and had a blood alcohol content of .15, almost twice the legal limit. 

The other teenage passenger and driver were taken to the hospital and recovered from their injuries. Drew and Ethan were sitting on the right side of the vehicle, an Alfa Romeo, and were killed on impact. 

‘Drew Hassenbein and Ethan Falkowitz were bright and athletic 14-year-olds with their entire lives in front of them until this defendant, allegedly impaired by both alcohol and cocaine, crashed his speeding pickup truck into their car – while driving the wrong way – and killed these two young men instantly,’ District Attorney Anne Donnelly said at the time. 

Amandeep Singh told the courtroom that he was sorry for his actions and said that he would never ‘intentionally’ hurt a child 

Drew Hassenbein was a tennis prodigy before he was killed by a drunk driver at the age of 14 

Ethan Falkowitz was a tennis star before he was killed in a 2023 car crash

‘This catastrophic crash scene was one of the worst we’ve ever seen here on Long Island and the alleged reckless actions of this defendant have created a ripple effect throughout the Roslyn community.’ 

Singh was arrested and charged with multiple counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular manslaughter in the first degree. 

He initially pled guilty to the charges but changed his plea in January. He was sentenced a month later. 

Families of the boys and a multitude of community members packed the courtroom for the sentencing. 

The mass show of support required two overflow rooms as nine people gave victim impact statements. 

Gary Falkowitz, Ethan’s father, said, ‘This was avoidable. The state failed my son. 

‘Nothing in life prepares you for losing a child. Ethan was filled with hope and optimism. He was every parent’s dream.’ 

‘My son was one of one. He was so super special. So talented. The light of our family,’ Mitch Hassenbein, Drew’s father, said. 

‘What this man committed is beyond unthinkable, and he gets 25 years if we are lucky? He gave my son a death sentence, and all of us a life sentence.’

Singh sped off after the crash while he was intoxicated and high on cocaine 

The two boys were killed in the crash, while the driver and other passenger sustained injuries but later survived 

The two boys were killed instantly when Singh struck their vehicle at 75 mph 

‘Instead of picking up my son at school, I had to pick him up at the morgue, instead of watching him use his tennis racket like a magic wand, I had to bury it with him,’ Hassenbein added. 

Drew’s mother told Singh, ‘Your lack of remorse is utterly disgusting. I hate you. You destroyed my family. I was robbed of all of life’s joys.’ 

Sobs could be heard throughout the courtroom as the boys’ families were forced to live through the details of the horrific tragedy all over again, CBS News reported. 

‘Why didn’t you go home, you turkey. You’re a bad, bad guy. You’re now sorry after you killed two beautiful boys?’ Drew’s grandfather shouted. 

Zachary Sheena, 17, another victim in the crash who was driving the car, told Singh that he was a coward and a murderer. 

‘This coward has sentenced me to a life of suffering. I’m forced to relive that night over and over and over again. Tennis gave me life. I don’t know the next time I’ll touch a tennis racket again,’ he said. 

Sheena, a high-school senior and tennis team captain, asked the judge to give Singh the maximum sentence. Both of the boys’ younger siblings also gave statements to the judge. 

Singh’s family showed up in support at the sentencing. He spoke for the first time in court to express his remorse. 

‘This was all my fault. Losing a child is the greatest grief. I have committed the great sin. If anyone should have died, it should have been me,’ Singh said. 

Singh, a father of two himself and a husband, also told the courtroom, ‘I would never hurt a child intentionally and yet I did. I apologize from the bottom of my heart for your loss.’

After the sentencing, Donnelly said at a press conference that she would continue to push for stronger penalties in similar cases. 

The district attorney explained that even if Singh’s actions had killed every passenger in the car, the penalty wouldn’t have changed. 

‘We need legislation that ensures drivers like Singh who make these disastrous choices face consequences that reflect the true devastation they cause and adequately hold them accountable,’ Donnelly said. 

Mitch Hassenbein advocated for the maximum sentence after Singh’s actions caused the tragic death of his son 

The families of the two teen boys spoke at Singh’s sentencing to advocate for the maximum punishment 

Drew and Ethan were tennis stars and were coming home from a tennis tournament with their teammates when they were killed. 

Drew was ranked number one in the country for boys under 12, while Ethan made the high school team as a starter in eighth grade. 

Jay Harris, the boys’ tennis coach, told local NBC affiliate, WNBC News, that they were best friends. 

‘They had the brightest future ahead of them,’ one of their friends told the outlet, adding that they were ‘the kindest people ever.’ 

‘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,’ a GoFundMe for the Hassenbein family read. 

Both the Hassenbein and Falkowtiz families have set up foundations to honor their sons and their love for tennis. 

The DailyMail.com reached out to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and Singh’s attorneys for comment but didn’t immediately hear back. 

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