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A Darby man trying to unload his gun at a red light shot and killed the driver next to him, police said

Lloyd Amarsingh, 28, is charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and related offenses.

The victim, whom police did not identify, was taken to Lankenau Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead not long after.
The victim, whom police did not identify, was taken to Lankenau Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead not long after.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

A Darby man is charged with third-degree murder after investigators said he shot the driver stopped next to him at a red light on Friday morning.

Lloyd Amarsingh, 28, told detectives the shooting was an accident, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. Amarsingh is also charged with involuntary manslaughter and possession of an instrument of a crime, and remained in custody in lieu of $250,000 bail.

His attorney, Baltazar Edson Rubio, did not return a request for comment.

While stopped at the light at the intersection of Lansdowne Avenue at Winding Way just before 8 a.m., Amarsingh said he pulled out his handgun and attempted to unload it, according to the affidavit.

He said the gun went off accidentally as he tried to remove a live round from its chamber, and it fired toward a white Mercedes Sprinter van stopped in the lane next to his Audi.

Amarsingh then sped off through the red light, the affidavit said, citing surveillance footage taken from the scene.

Investigators responding to calls for a shooting found the victim slumped behind the wheel of the van, which was still running. Inside, they found a 56-year-old man who had been shot once in the left side of his head.

Medics took him to Lankenau Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead not long after, the affidavit said. Investigators have not released the identity of the victim, but Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt described him as a father of four who was in the middle of a work shift when the shooting took place.

Amarsingh surrendered to police hours later, after news outlets broadcast photos of his vehicle provided by police.