INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The Indiana Supreme Court will not hear the appeal of a semi driver convicted in a deadly crash in Cass County.

A divided court announced Tuesday it has declined a new appeal in the case of Jaspreet Singh.

Investigators believe Singh was driving his semi and missed his exit on U.S. 35 in March 2021, then stopped the truck and began backing up to return to the exit.

Jamie Pay, 24, died when her SUV slammed into the rear of Singh’s truck. Crash investigators estimated she was travelling 75 miles per hour at the time of the wreck.

The Indiana Court of Appeals overturned Singh’s original conviction, ruling that the jury should have heard evidence that Pay was on her phone using Snapchat seconds before impact.

A second jury also convicted Singh of reckless homicide, and a judge sentenced him to four years in prison.

A second appeals court ruling rejected Singh’s argument that Pay caused her own death because she “was not paying attention to the road but rather composing messages to friends while speeding at seventy-five miles per hour in the passing lane.” 

“Singh’s decision to reverse his truck in the left lane of a highway was a substantial factor in Pay’s death, which results from a collision with Singh’s semi-truck,” Judge Peter Foley wrote in the unanimous opinion in May.

The appeals court also rejected Singh’s request to reduce his prison sentence, noting Singh’s “callousness” and lack of remorse at the crash scene.

The Supreme Court announcement did not explain the decision to decline the case, but did say two of the court’s five justices voted to hear the appeal.