Sandeep Singh is still recovering from injuries he sustained last month when Joseph Caleca allegedly hit him with his truck after telling him to go back to his country, the Queens DA says.
Photos courtesy the Sikh Coalition
Cops arrested a man suspected of being behind the wheel when his truck hit and dragged a Sikh father in Ozone Park before speeding off, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Joseph Caleca, 55, of Setauket, Long Island, was accused of using racial slurs, including calling 29-year-old Sandeep Singh “Osama,” before ramming his white Chevrolet pick-up truck into him, dragging his body along the street several feet near 101st Avenue and 99th Street before fleeing on July 30, police said.
“The defendant is accused of an unprovoked attack that allegedly began with the defendant driving by the victim and his friends and yelling out a vile anti-Muslim insult,” Brown said. “After an exchange of words, the defendant allegedly struck the victim intentionally with his vehicle and dragged his body along the street.”
The criminal complaint against Caleca outlined a harsh run-in with Singh as he was walking with three of his friends near the Ozone Park intersection last month.
“Move your [expletive deleted],” he allegedly said to Singh. “You’re [expletive deleted] slow, you [expletive deleted] Osama. Go back to your country.”
The man then parked his truck to verbally confront Singh and his friends before returning to his car and driving head-on into the 29-year-old, Brown said. Singh’s body fell into the vehicle’s undercarriage and was dragged several feet until his body became dislodged from underneath the truck, the DA said.
Singh was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was treated for internal bleeding and received several staples to his mid-section, Brown said.
“I am grateful to be alive and talking to you today,” Singh said in a prepared statement last Thursday. “In fact, my doctors and the police said it’s a miracle that I’m alive.”
Caleca was charged with attempted murder as a hate crime, assault as a hate crime and leaving the scene of an accident. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted, Brown said.
The Richmond Hill Sikh Cultural Society teamed up with the national Sikh Coalition advocacy group soon after the accident to push hard on Singh’s behalf for a full-fledged investigation of the crime, arguing that hate-infused sentiments were still extremely prevalent in the post-Sept. 11 world.
The group said Sikh Americans have been targeted in countless lethal attacks since the tragic events of Sept. 11, including an incident in August 2012, when six worshippers were gunned down at the Oak Creek Gurdwara in Wisconsin. They said Singh’s story was only the latest chapter in an ongoing string of hateful and biased attacks.
“Sandeep is very fortunate to be alive, but we want more law enforcement resources devoted to finding the hate attacker,” said Amardeep Singh, program director for the Sikh Coalition. “Given that this attack was preceded by racial and religious slurs, it is an attack not only on Sandeep but also on the whole Sikh community.”
Either way, however, Singh said he and the Sikh community longed for this wrong to be made right – somehow.
“I want you to know that Sikhs are a peaceful and giving people,” Singh said in a statement. “Sikhism teaches forgiveness and that we are all one. While we seek justice for the egregious crimes that have been committed against our families, we do not seek revenge.”
By Phil Corso
