Pastor’s act before four cops killed

A Victorian tucking boss helped his driver search for voodoo dolls and prayed to “cast out” a curse before allowing him to get behind the wheel of an almost 20 tonne truck, a court has been told.

Simiona Tuteru returned before the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to comply with a safety duty under the heavy vehicle national law.

By his plea, Tuteru has admitted he recklessly exposed the four officers and others to the “risk of death” by allowing truck driver Mohinder Singh to get behind the wheel.

In court, prosecutor Matthew Fisher said it was a “cruel irony” that four officers doing their job were killed by Tuteru failing to do his.

As the Victorian supervisor of Connect Logistics, he said Tuteru was trained and empowered to identify that Singh was unfit to drive on April 22, 2020 – culminating in the single greatest loss of life in Victoria Police’s history.

Tuteru was initially charged with four counts of manslaughter over his role in the deadly collision, but these were dropped in October 2022.

The following year a judge granted a rare permanent stay after complaining about Victoria Police’s handling of the case.

However, this was later overturned in the Court of Appeal.

Earlier on Tuesday, Singh told the court Tuteru had urged him to drive despite fears he’d been “cursed by a witch”.

He is serving an 18 year and six month sentence for culpable driving causing the death of Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, First Constable Glen Humphris and Constable Josh Prestney.

Singh told the court he was sent home the day before the crash after complaining to a different supervisor, Steve Harrison, he hadn’t been sleeping and was tired.

The following day, he said he asked to come in and speak with Tuteru.

“I wanted to see Simon about it because I knew he was a pastor at a church,” he said.

“I hadn’t had any sleep, I was seeing things … I thought I had been cursed by a witch.”

Singh said he drove in at 3.30pm telling Tuteru he was fatigued and believed a female hitchhiker he’d previously picked up had placed a curse on him.

He claimed Tuteru searched his car for about 10 minutes before blessing him because “witches leave things behind like voodoo dolls or hair”.

“I can’t remember all the words. In the end he said I cast the spell out of you,” Singh said.

“After that he basically said you’re right now … I just needed you to do one load and see how you feel after that.”

The sleep-deprived man claimed he did not want to drive but was concerned about losing his job.

The court was told Singh had chronic sleep loss in the days preceding the crash and had been taking a “considerable” amount of drugs, including methamphetamine.

After cross-examination from Tuteru’s barrister, David Hallowes SC, Singh agreed his memory had been impacted in the days surrounding the crash by drug use and fatigue.

But he maintained his memory of approaching Tuteru and telling him he was fatigued and “didn’t want to drive” was clear.

“I remember everything about it … it sticks out in my mind,” he said.

Mr Hallowes suggested Singh was lying about telling Tuteru he hadn’t slept in an attempt to “lessen your blame” by shifting responsibility – which Singh denied.

He argued his client’s actions in meeting Singh demonstrated his concern, but incorrectly judged he was fit to drive.

“We say the evidence doesn’t support a conclusion that Mr Tuteru knew Mr Singh was unfit to drive at that time,” Mr Hallowes said.

“What we say is that by his plea, Mr Tuteru accepts he foresaw a risk.”

Mr Hallowes told the court there was “clearly discussion” about supernatural issues, but this needed to be viewed in his religious beliefs where “such matters are raised and do no generate alarm bells”.

The four officers were killed when Singh fell asleep at the wheel and collided with two police cars and a Porsche about 5.36pm on the Eastern Fwy, about 40 minutes after leaving the trucking depot.

The officers had pulled over Richard Pusey for driving his Porsche at 149km/h and were standing in an emergency lane when Singh’s truck crashed.

Pusey, who escaped being struck because he was urinating off the road, was later jailed for 10 months after filming the dying officers.

In emotional statements to the court, Constable Josh Prestney’s parents, Andrew and Belinda and brother Alex, described the heartbreaking impact of his death.

“Some may have forgotten during these long and painful days in courtrooms,” Constable Alex Prestney said.

“Remember who we’re here for. Their names are Lynette, Kevin, Josh and Glen.”

In court, both parties submitted a hefty fine or community corrections order would be an appropriate sentence.

Justice James Elliot adjourned the case and will sentence Tuteru at a later date.