A horrific incident in California has left three people dead and several injured, all due to the alleged actions of a 21-year-old Indian-origin truck driver. Jashanpreet Singh is accused of causing a fatal semi-truck crash while driving under the influence earlier this week.
Reports indicate that on Tuesday, Singh’s truck slammed into slow-moving traffic in Southern California without any apparent braking. Toxicology tests later confirmed he was impaired at the time of the collision, leading to his arrest on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Compounding the tragedy, it has been revealed that Singh is an undocumented immigrant. He reportedly crossed the U.S. southern border in 2022 and was subsequently released pending an immigration hearing. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources confirm his unlawful immigration status, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued an immigration detainer following his arrest. Interestingly, Singh’s release was part of the Biden administration’s 2022 ‘alternatives to detention’ policy.
This marks the second such incident since August involving an Indian-origin truck driver accused of causing a deadly crash in the U.S. On August 12, 28-year-old Harjinder Singh faced homicide charges after an alleged illegal U-turn in his tractor-trailer in Florida resulted in three fatalities.
Following that earlier incident, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had announced a temporary halt to all commercial truck driver work visas. Mr. Rubio expressed concerns on social media, stating that ‘The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.’