Man Charged with Negligent Homicide for January 19 Incident in Area Extradited back to West Virginia

According to WDTV, the truck driver that was arrested for causing a fatal accident in Cheat Lake has been extradited back to West Virginia from California.

According to the West Virginia Division of Correction and Rehabilitation website, Sukhjinder Singh, 37, was booked into the North Central Regional Jail Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. Singh is being charged with negligent homicide, and his bond is set at $500,00    

This meant he chose not to voluntarily agree to be transferred to West Virginia to face his charges. Instead, Singh opted to go through a lengthier legal process, which required a governor’s warrant. On April 30th, that lengthy legal process was finally completed.

A California judge served Singh with the governor’s warrant and ordered him into the custody of West Virginia. Singh is believed to have caused the January accident that resulted in Kevin Lataille’s death in Cheat Lake.

Deputies responded to the report of a jack-knifed tractor trailer on the Cheat Lake Bridge on January 19th. Singh, the driver of the truck, told deputies that he lost control due to the severe snowstorm conditions, which resulted in the accident.

Later that same day, the Morgantown Police Department received a missing persons report for Lataille, 59, of Pennsylvania.

Over the following days, police searched for Lataille, and on January 23rd, location data from his phone indicated that his last known location was near the Cheat Lake Bridge, deputies said.

Investigators reviewed surveillance footage from the area, which showed a large vehicle sliding on the bridge, throwing snow into the air, and a separate passenger vehicle falling from the bridge into the lake. Drone footage later confirmed that the vehicle was in the lake, but due to severe weather and dangerous conditions on the lake, deputies said a recovery mission was scheduled for January 26th.

On the 26th, Lataille’s vehicle was recovered, and his remains were found inside the vehicle.

Following an extensive investigation, deputies determined that Singh’s tractor was traveling at an unsafe speed despite the snowy road conditions. Witnesses reported Singh’s driving to be reckless and even criminal, deputies said.

Deputies were also able to confirm that Singh’s truck had hit another vehicle prior to reaching the bridge and failed to stop. An examination of Lataille’s vehicle confirmed a collision with Singh’s truck, which is what ultimately sent Lataille’s vehicle off the bridge and into Cheat Lake, deputies said.

On February 28th with the assistance of a translator, deputies interviewed Singh, who admitted to driving the tractor at the time of the accident but denied hitting any vehicles or driving recklessly. However, the investigation showed that Singh’s reckless driving directly caused the fatal crash that resulted in Lataille’s death, deputies said.

Singh was finally arrested in Fontana, California on March 6th.

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