35-year-old Rajwinder Singh Grewal was involved in a car accident while driving, killing a young passenger
An Indian Uber driver accused of causing a fatal crash while falling asleep at the wheel in Perth has been allowed to work as a truck driver while on bail. According to The West Australian, he works 22-hour shifts.Rajwinder Singh Grewal, 35, was allowed to work as a freight driver between 9am and 4pm on Monday, but a curfew will be imposed outside these hours. He remains banned from driving passenger transport.The court heard the accident happened in Ringwood at around 3.40am on March 28 when Grewal was driving a silver Toyota Kluger with a mother and her two young children as passengers. The vehicle hit a tree after he fell asleep at the wheel. A seven-month-old baby died in the crash and the woman and another child were injured.Grewal is accused of working for up to 22 hours before the accident. Police told the court they obtained dashcam footage from inside the car which showed him falling asleep on multiple occasions before the crash.He was charged with one count of dangerous driving causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. He has yet to enter a plea and will appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on August 11.During Monday’s bail change hearing, his attorney said he rested throughout the day and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. They also said he was not speeding at the time of the incident.Prosecutors said fatigue was a major factor in the crash and that Grewal was working both a rideshare job and another trucking job.An Uber spokesperson said the company’s “fatigue management processes and tools” forced drivers to take an eight-hour break from the app after a cumulative 12 hours of work, but Grewal also worked a second freight driving job, 7News reported.Grewal worked as a rideshare driver after the accident and has since been restricted from carrying passengers. Under the new bail conditions, he can only work as a freight driver for a specified period of time.Grewal left the courtroom wearing a hat, sunglasses and a surgical mask and did not answer reporters’ questions.
