An Ontario truck driver admitted he was playing a game on his phone when he caused a fatal crash on a highway near Montreal – the collision killed a mother and her 11-year-old son.
On Wednesday, 29-year-old Baljeet Singh pleaded guilty in a Longueuil courtroom to charges related to dangerous driving that led to death and injuries.
The crash happened the night of July 19, 2022.
Singh was driving a 53-foot tractor-trailer on Highway 30 in Brossard, while playing a game on his phone. Traffic was slowing down near a construction zone, but he didn’t react quickly enough and slammed into vehicles ahead, leading to a pileup.
Court records also show he had been using his phone repeatedly before the crash; investigators counted 18 instances in just one hour.
One of the cars that was involved in the pileup was a Dodge Challenger driven by 42-year-old Nancy Lefrançois.
She had her son Loïc Chevalier and two others were in the car at the time. Tragically, she died at the scene, and her son later died in hospital. They had just celebrated their birthdays not long before the crash.
Her husband, Benoit Lavoie, was also badly hurt in the crash. He suffered serious injuries including broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and head trauma.
Due to the severity of his injuries, he was in a coma for three weeks and missed his wife’s funeral.
The fourth passenger, a 16-year-old boy, also suffered severe injuries, including internal bleeding and damage to his spine.
He was put on a breathing tube for a couple of days and later needed reconstructive surgery on his head and face.
Several others were hurt in the crash as well.
After the collision, Singh was treated in hospital for shock and released early the next morning. He later spoke with police and said he couldn’t remember what happened.
That same day, he booked a flight and left for India. Investigators couldn’t reach him afterward; his phone and social media accounts were also no longer active.
A warrant was issued in July 2023.
He was eventually arrested in the United States in August 2025 and agreed to be sent back to Canada.
Once back, he admitted that he was playing the game called Ludo on his phone at the time of the incident and wasn’t paying attention to the road.
He has been in custody since September 2025.
Phone records also showed he had been on a call in the hour before the crash.
The same records showed that he often played online games with the same person.
The charge he admitted to is serious and could mean life in prison.
He’s scheduled to be back in court in June, where the judge will decide what his sentence will be.
