A 23-year-old Kent man pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of vehicular homicide and reckless endangerment after he allegedly consumed beer and then drove a car an estimated 100 mph on July 25 that crashed and killed his passenger.
Ranveer Singh entered the plea in King County Superior Court at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. He posted $100,000 bail and remains out of custody. He is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 24 when a trial date could be set or attorneys could ask for more time to prepare the case.
Gurpreet Gosal, 21, of Kent, died after the single-car crash at about 7:46 p.m. in the 31800 block of Kent-Black Diamond Road Southeast in unincorporated Auburn. He was a friend of Singh and the only passenger in the car.
Prosecutors alleged that Singh and Gosal went rafting with friends at Flaming Geyser State Park in Auburn where Singh consumed alcohol, according to charging papers. Gosal needed to go home so the group left at about 7:30 p.m.
About 5 miles from the park, on a clear, dry night, Singh drove his white 2007 BMW 328i, a sport sedan, northbound along the Kent-Black Diamond Road along a gentle, uphill grade on a straight piece of highway.
The road at that section has one lane in each direction and no passing designated with a double yellow center line. The posted speed is 45 mph.
Singh was speeding an estimated 100-plus mph, according to a witness. Gosal was in the front passenger seat. Singh passed a car traveling the speed limit and had to take drastic action to return to his travel lane due to an oncoming vehicle, according to charging documents.
The BMW slid off the road to the right traveling against the guardrail for several feet before the driver over-corrected to the left. He slid across the entire road into the other-side guardrail, then went airborne over the guardrail and tumbled down an embankment before slamming passenger side into a large tree. Gosal died at the scene from multiple injuries to his body and head.
Singh climbed out of the car with a bleeding head injury. He told King County Sheriff’s Office deputies he had one beer two hours earlier. He claimed he was driving 60 to 70 mph to get around a slow car.
A drug recognition expert officer arrived at the scene and noted signs of impairment by Singh. He noted his eyes were droopy and bloodshot; his face had a dazed and confused expression and his demeanor had an angry-like tone with the odor of intoxicants coming from his breath. The officer obtained a search warrant for a blood draw. The toxicology results are pending.
Deputies arrested Singh at the accident scene.
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