Dylan James Severson was killed in December 2024 by a drunk driver who crashed head-on into his car in St. Paul.

Dylan James Severson (Courtesy of Amber Seidl)

A few weeks before, the 18-year-old graduate of Cochrane-Fountain City High School in western Wisconsin was accepted into nearby Winona State University.

“We were so happy that he decided to go to college, and couldn’t wait to see what he would do next,” his father told the court Tuesday before the man responsible for his death was sentenced.

Sanjit Singh, 56-year-old retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, was given a year in the county workhouse and 10 years of probation after Ramsey County District Judge Timothy Mulrooney granted his motion for a downward departure from state sentencing guidelines, which called for a four-year prison term.

Mulrooney found that Singh, of St. Paul, met the criteria under the state’s Veterans Restorative Justice Act. Passed in 2021, the law allows judges to deviate from sentencing guidelines for veterans whose criminal offenses stem from a service-related condition.

Mulrooney addressed Severson’s parents before explaining the sentence.

“I understand that what is lost here and what is front and center here is that Dylan Severson’s life was cut tragically short, unnecessarily short. It didn’t have to be that way. … My heart goes out to the family.”

He added: “The law around these types of motion demands that we consider the circumstances of the offender. But always present … is what’s been lost here. And that’s your son.”

Afterward, outside the courtroom, Severson’s father voiced his frustration over the sentence.

“It is astounding that you can murder a child, and then get, basically, a slap on the wrist,” he said.

0.23% BAC

Singh was extremely intoxicated when he drove his 1998 GMC Sierra over the divider line on Shepard Road and crashed into Severson’s 2007 Chevrolet Impala head-on near Randolph Avenue just after 2:30 a.m. Dec. 29, 2024.

St. Paul police officers called to the crash found Severson’s sedan and Singh’s pickup truck both facing east on Shepard Road with badly damaged front ends.

Severson was in the driver’s seat of the Impala, not moving or breathing. His passenger, a woman, was conscious in the front passenger seat and had to be extracted from the car. She had injuries to her hands, face, neck and legs and complained of back and leg pain.

Singh was lying across the passenger seat of the pickup truck with his legs near the driver’s floor area. He was unconscious, but had shallow breaths. St. Paul Fire Department medics rushed him and the woman to Regions Hospital.

Medics pronounced Severson dead at the scene.

A sample of Singh’s blood taken at Regions about three and a half hours after the crash later showed a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.23%. The legal limit to drive in Minnesota is 0.08%.

Singh pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation in June. He entered a Norgaard plea, stating that he could not remember the crash but that he reasonably believed the prosecution had sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction. At the hearing, Singh said he had drunk multiple glasses of wine at home before the crash. He admitted, based on a reconstruction report, that he crossed over the center lane and into oncoming traffic before crashing into Severson’s car.

‘Just starting to hit his stride’

At sentencing, Severson’s parents said he loved music and that he had taught himself to play guitar and piano.

Dylan James Severson (Courtesy of Amber Seidl)

“He could just listen to a song and start playing it,” his father, Josh Severson, said. “He was so gifted in so many things that it just seemed so easy for him.”

Dylan was the second of four siblings. His older sister by four years, Erica, “doted on him and loved taking care of him,” their father said. His younger sister Isabella was born a year and two weeks after him, and being so close in age, they “became inseparable.” He taught his youngest sibling, Orianna, addition and subtraction when she was 3 years old.

His mother, Amber Seidl, said walking into the family home now brings sadness.

“There’s no longer the same level of laughter, loudness in our children and frankly, the joy that it once had,” she said.

Dylan was kind and empathetic and always ready to help others, whether it was his sisters, friends or a homeless man he befriended at the local skate park, his parents said.

“Dylan wasn’t just my son,” his mother said. “He was a friend to me, to his family, and to all the people who were lucky enough to be in his life.”

Dylan was “just starting to hit his stride as a young man in the world,” his father said, “and I can only imagine the amazing things he would do and the lives he would impact in such a positive way.”

Arguments, decision

Singh’s attorney Jack Rice argued at sentencing that he qualifies for a downward departure under both the Veterans Restorative Justice Act and what are known as “Trog factors”: remorse, support of family and amenability to probation.

Sanjit Singh (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office)

Singh spent 22 years in the military, first with the U.S. Army and then with the Air Force. He suffered head injuries during combat in Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield in the early 1990s and while deployed in Afghanistan in 2009, Rice said.

Singh retired from the military in 2019, “but there are certain things that will never leave him,” Rice said in a presentencing motion.

Records show that in March 2020 Singh was approved for medical benefits after being diagnosed with major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder, anxiety and insomnia, Rice said.

Singh’s “alcohol increased significantly after retirement, likely due to his untreated trauma and mental health concerns,” Rice said.

Singh’s alcohol use before the crash, Rice argued, was in “conformity with his alcohol use disorder. The very same alcohol use disorder that he is receiving benefits for because of its connection with military service.”

Singh ended up in a coma from the crash, suffered a stroke, and was in and out of the hospital for nearly six months.

Since then, Rice said, he has gone through inpatient and outpatient programs through the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and has attended more than 200 Alcoholics Anonymous classes. He became a certified peer recovery specialist, and is taking classes at the University of St. Thomas to become a licensed drug and alcohol counselor.

Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Tom Madison told the court he was not aware of any cases since the 1980s where the court has granted a dispositional departure for a criminal vehicular homicide under a similar drunk driving scenario.

“The state is simply asking for the guideline sentence,” he said. “Of note, if this had occurred in other states, the defendant could face far stiffer penalties, more time in prison.”

Singh apologized before hearing his sentence, saying: “I took away a son, a brother, a grandson, a cousin, a family friend.” He added, “I am deeply, deeply ashamed.”

In handing down the sentence, Mulrooney said that when looking at the law, Singh meets all the criteria: He was charged with an eligible offense, suffers from an “applicable condition” stemming from military service and the offense was committed as a result of the “applicable condition.”

Mulrooney also pointed out what Singh has done since the crash, and found he has “demonstrated genuine remorse” and is “particularly amenable to probation.”

“As I’ve thought about this motion, I will say that I believe that there needs to be some jail consequence for what has occurred,” Mulrooney said.