A 21-year-old Indian national, who is also an unlawful resident of the U.S., was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of causing a multi-car pileup on a California highway that resulted in three fatalities.
Jashanpreet Singh was taken into custody after the major accident along a highway in Ontario, Calif., according to a report from ABC7. Law enforcement alleges Singh was driving a semi-truck while under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash, and he faces charges including vehicular manslaughter.
California Highway Patrol Officer Rodrigo Jimenez confirmed Singh’s intoxication, stating, “He was eventually transported to the hospital, and he was checked out by the medical staff, and our officers determined he was driving under the influence of drugs.”
READ: Florida Officials Take Action Against California Trucking Company In Fatal U-Turn Crash
A law enforcement source told the local news outlet that Singh is an illegal migrant.
The officer lamented the tragic loss of life. “This is sadly a reminder of how precious life is, and how fast it could be taken away at the hands of somebody who is driving irresponsibly, somebody who is impaired,” Jimenez continued. “The hardest part is knowing that at least three of these individuals will not have a Christmas, will not make it home.”
The deadly crash adds to a recent string of fatal accidents allegedly involving illegal migrant truck drivers. Harjinder Singh, another Indian national illegally residing in the U.S., was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in August following an alleged illegal U-turn on a Florida highway that caused three deaths. Earlier in October, an illegal migrant trucker from Serbia and Montenegro was arrested in Indiana after a crash that killed another driver.
Following the Indiana incident, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that an immigration detainer had been lodged for the driver. “Illegal aliens have no business operating 18-wheelers or semi-trucks on America’s highways,” McLaughlin asserted.
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The Department of Transportation (DOT) has recently tightened regulations on migrant truckers, with Secretary Sean Duffy implementing stricter rules in September.
The new directive mandates that non-citizens seeking non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) must undergo a mandatory federal immigration status check and hold an employment-based visa. The rules could impact approximately 200,000 individuals with non-domiciled CDLs, many of whom may have entered the U.S. unlawfully.
Secretary Duffy specifically criticized California when handing down the new rules, accusing the state of being “egregious” in licensing foreign drivers unlawfully. “California’s reckless disregard is frankly disgusting and an affront to the millions of Americans who expect us to keep them safe,” Duffy said at the time, threatening to pull millions in federal funding if the state did not comply.
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