UPDATE: No criminal charges in I-70 crash that killed children

Nov. 22--For 16 months after a horrific crash on Interstate 70 killed two young children and critically hurt a sibling and their mother, Clay County's prosecutor wrestled with whether he had a prosecutable case, he said last week.

That case would have been against Amriptal Singh, 62, of Quebec, Canada, who Indiana State Police found at fault in the July 2017 accident after, they said, he failed to slow his 68,000-pound semi tractor-trailer before striking the Bereda family van from the rear.

Brennen Bereda, 5, and Finley Bereda, 16 months, were dead before emergency personnel arrived. Mother Christina Bereda and son and sibling Jorden, 3, were severely injured.

On Wednesday, Clay Prosecutor Robert Pell decided not to file charges of reckless homicide, criminal recklessness or reckless driving resulting in bodily injury.

Instead, he has decided to pursue a charge of speed greater than reasonable under circumstances. It is a Class C infraction that carries a penalty of up to a $500 fine and no possibility of jail time.

In an interview with the Tribune-Star last week, Pell said he understands a Class C infraction -- a civil action, not a criminal one -- does not seem sufficient penalty for a case involving the death of two children.

"So what we're down to is looking at charges like speed too great for the conditions. That's a class C infraction. He wouldn't even go to jail and would face a $500 fine," Pell said. "That hardly seems like much of a penalty."

And in his decision released Wednesday in a five-page statement, Pell said he found a host of case law that would have precluded more severe charges.

The possible other charges, he wrote, came down to reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony; criminal recklessness, also a Level 5 felony; reckless driving resulting in bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor; and speed greater than reasonable under conditions, a Class C civil infraction.

In the end, Pell said, he found only the "speed greater than reasonable" charge was legally supportable.

"This is what I have decided to file because it is the only action arguably supported by the law in this tragic situation," Pell wrote, adding his office now would begin serving notice on Singh.

Prosecutor's reasoning

In consideration of a reckless homicide charge, Pell cited an Indiana Court of Appeals case, Whitaker v. State, in which the state determined that only gross deviations from the traffic code -- such as ignoring traffic signals at a high-rate of speed or intentionally crossing the center line without a legitimate reason -- would be conduct sufficient to support a reckless homicide conviction.

Additionally, Pell found similar findings in State v. Boadi. In that case, the court determined "that an accident [that] arose out of the inadvertence, lack of attention, forgetfulness or thoughtlessness of the driver of a vehicle, or from an error of judgment on his part, will not support a charge of reckless homicide."

In Singh's case, Pell said, he found no gross deviations that would warrant the more severe charges.

"In Mr. Singh's case, he was obeying the speed limit. There was no such excess speed. It appeared that Mr. Singh, for whatever reason, failed to slow much, if at all, prior to the rear-end collision," Pell wrote.

For similar reasons, Pell decided not to pursue charges of criminal recklessness or reckless driving resulting in bodily injury. Pell wrote the totality of circumstances -- including Singh's lack of excess speed and absence of aggressive behavior -- would not support either charge.

Pell said he believes driving too fast for the circumstances is the appropriate charge under Indiana Code.

But for at least one member of the Bereda family, a class C infraction isn't nearly enough.

When a tractor-trailer crashes into the rear of a van without so much as slowing, the driver needs to be held accountable, said Kevin Bereda, grandfather to the children involved in the crash, in an interview with a Tribune-Star reporter on Wednesday afternoon.

"We are very disappointed in his decision and the position that he's taken," Bereda said. "I think it's a lame decision and certainly doesn't bring justice to the Bereda family.

"I don't know how you lose two young lives only to have someone come back and say that it 'was just an accident' or that the driver was going just a little too fast for the conditions."

Crash and investigation

On July 18, 2017, Christina Bereda and her children were rolling slowly in Clay County near mile-marker 17 of I-70 as construction work being done 6 miles to the west snarled midday traffic.

The family was traveling from Beavercreek, Ohio, to its home in O'Fallon, Illinois, where Christina was a doctor at the nearby Express Medical Care and her husband, David, was a doctor at Scott Air Force Base.

About 2:45 p.m., Singh approached the backed-up traffic. He didn't stop or attempt to slow before striking the rear of Bereda's Honda Odyssey minivan, police found.

Christina Bereda was flown to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after sustaining injuries to her, "entire body," according to an Indiana State Police crash report.

Jorden Bereda was airlifted to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. "He was in critical condition for more than a week as doctors worked to piece him back together," Kevin Bereda said.

Singh was taken to Regional Hospital in Terre Haute for serious leg injuries.

It was at Regional Hospital where ISP Master Trooper John Yung and Sgt. Douglas Hutchinson caught up with Singh and asked him why he failed to see the traffic backup and stop short of Bereda's van.

According to reports filed by lead investigator Master Trooper Matt Ames, Singh said he did see the backup but his brakes failed to engage as he tried to press them for "30-60 seconds."

A Level 1 post-crash DOT inspection by ISP Senior Trooper Tyler Van Ness and Senior Trooper Brent Hoover did not support Signh's statement. Their post-crash work determined Singh's brakes were in working order at the time of the crash.

A witness, Michael Berthiaume of Indianapolis, also contradicted the failed-brakes statement. He told police he was in the left lane before the crash and "did not see any brake lights on the white tractor-trailer prior to [it] hitting the car."

A crash investigation report filed by Ames, a 22-year ISP veteran, showed event data recorder evidence collected from the Beredas' van indicated Singh was traveling at least 62 mph at the time of impact, 3 mph below the speed limit for semis on that stretch of I-70.

After determining his approximate speed, police were able to further dissect Singh's claim that brake failure led to the crash.

Police determined that he should have had a clear line of sight to the scene of the crash of at least 1,533 feet, or almost one-third of a mile, from the nearest obstruction, a small hill east of the crash site.

Ames noted in his report that the 1,500-foot measurement may be conservative, as "a semi driver should be able to see from a farther distance since they would be sitting higher in their vehicle."

Considering Singh's speed of approximately 62 miles per hour, police said it should have taken him 16.86 seconds to crest the small hill and catch up to the backed-up traffic in which the Bereda family was stopped.

"This is more than enough time/distance to perceive a hazard [or] backup and to stop," Ames said in his report.

Ames took it a step farther, saying Singh's claim that he attempted to apply his brakes for "30-60" seconds was not supportable.

Going 62 mph, as police established, Singh's claim, Ames said, means he would have been applying his brakes somewhere between 2,726 feet and 5,453 feet -- roughly between a half mile and a mile -- before the crash.

"This statement is not possible due to the fact Mr. Singh would have been unable to see the backup from such distances," Ames wrote.

Police also found Singh was using a hands-free cell-phone device at the time of the crash. Although allowed by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Administration standards, Ames said, in an interview last week, it's apparent some drivers are better dealing with the distraction than others.

In his final investigatory note, Ames said that Singh's speed approaching a traffic backup and his inattentiveness were the only contributing factors.

The case file was turned over to Pell in early August 2017. In an interview, Ames said state police did all they could do to gather the facts of the case and it was up to Pell to determine what to do with those facts.

"We could have cited him for a number of things, but ultimately it's up to the prosecutor's office to determine what charges will be filed and will not be filed," Ames said.

"I could have written him 50 tickets, but if the prosecutor's office doesn't file any of them, then they're basically just a piece of paper."

'Not a satisfactory result'

Kevin Bereda, the Bereda children's grandfather and a retired U.S. Secret Service member, said Ames' reports are more than damning enough to result in a criminal prosecution of Singh.

"It was daylight hours with perfect road conditions. Singh never hit his brakes," Bereda said in a late summer interview. "I am not claiming Singh intentionally killed my grandchildren, but his callous disregard for the safety of others on the highway is clear.

"Singh was, at a minimum, negligent."

And while prosecutor Pell does not disagree, he said Indiana law sets a very demanding bar when trying cases of vehicular negligence and recklessness.

"Clearly this is a case of gross negligence. The courts of appeal, however, have really ruled with disfavor when prosecutors try to take negligence cases and try them as criminal cases," he said in an interview last week.

"I couldn't find a case exactly on point to fit these facts, but there are several cases that are very close to these facts. And in those cases the courts of appeal have said this is simply not a crime, it's gross negligence.

"And again, I understand that's not a satisfactory result for the family of the people who were killed. "

Regarding the timing of his decision, Pell said he was well within the two-year statute of limitations, but he was determined to make a call on the case before the year was out. Pell is leaving the prosecutor's office at year's end after winning election Nov. 6 to Clay County Superior Court judge. He said the decision was his to make, and he did not wish to force it onto his successor.

'Accountable for his actions'

Multiple efforts by the Tribune-Star to reach Singh by telephone were not successful.

However, his former manager at Grewal Transport Inc., John Grewal, said the wreck took a physical and emotional toll on Singh.

"He doesn't drive for Grewal Transport anymore. Actually, he doesn't drive period," Grewal said of his former employee. "He just didn't heal after the accident, physically or emotionally. So he stopped driving transportation trucks and, last I heard, doesn't even like to drive a car anymore."

Grewal said the trucking company has since shut down. He said the insurance settlement with the Bereda family hastened his family business's transition away from over-the-road trucking.

Kevin Bereda said no one in the family filed a civil suit, but he did acknowledge there had been an insurance settlement, which he declined to discuss.

He said he's never thought Singh tried to hurt or kill his family members, but contrition still remains short of justice.

"Of course someone is going to feel sorry for causing the death of two people and seriously injuring two others," said Bereda, who lives in Ohio. "Of course you're going to feel bad.

"I don't believe that [Singh] did this on purpose, but I think he should be held accountable for what he's done, and I hardly think charging someone for driving too fast for the conditions is adequate."

Pell says he empathizes with the family and appreciates the work of law enforcement, but says he can only do so much within the law.

"You can try and wish the law was different than what it is ..." Pell said. "But that's just the way it is."

Bereda said he does not agree and does not believe justice has been done. He did credit the Tribune-Star's renewed interest in the case, brought about by his contacts with the newspaper, for yielding a decision and explanation.

"Nothing would have happened had you not called, I'm convinced of that," Bereda said.

"I don't think you can turn your head to this and say it was 'just an accident,' and that was his attitude. The hell it was! It wasn't an accident to me," Bereda said.

Reporter Alex Modesitt can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TribStarAlex.

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