A semitruck driver allegedly responsible for killing three people and wounding four others after plowing into several vehicles while under the influence illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022 under the Biden administration, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
A statement from the DHS identified the driver as Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old Indian national. Dashcam video of the crash showed Singh’s truck plowing into three vehicles in front of him at full speed while they were stopped, destroying two and severely damaging the other. His momentum was only stopped by another truck, which caused his semitruck to catch fire and veer into other vehicles. In all, the crash destroyed or damaged eight vehicles, killing three people and injuring four, including Singh.
“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,” CHP Officer Rodrigo Jimenez said.
DHS tore into the Biden administration over its release of Singh back into the country after he was caught.
“It is a terrible tragedy three innocent people lost their lives due to the reckless open border policies that allowed an illegal alien to be released into the U.S. and drive an 18-wheeler on America’s highways,” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “This accident follows a disturbing trend of illegal aliens driving 18 wheelers and semi-trucks on America’s roads.”
She pointed out that the DHS just filed another immigration detainer after an illegal immigrant from Serbia and Montenegro caused a fatal crash while driving a semitruck.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is working day-in and day-out to make America’s roads safe again,” McLaughlin concluded.
DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged an immigration detainer against Singh on Wednesday.
Singh was arrested on Tuesday by California Highway Patrol officers and held in the West Valley Detention Center in San Bernardino without bail. He was charged with driving under the influence of drugs, causing bodily injury, and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. His first court appearance was scheduled for Thursday.
He was caught and then released by the Biden administration in 2022, as part of its “alternatives to detention” policy, DHS sources told the New York Post.
CHP officers were investigating whether Singh had a valid commercial driver’s license, they told CBS LA.
Singh is just the latest of several illegal immigrant truck drivers to kill several others in crashes due to negligence, a problem that has increasingly reared its head since an influx of crossings during the Biden administration.
An August crash in Fort Pierce, Florida, caused by illegal Indian immigrant Harjinder Singh, who similarly crossed into the United States from Mexico, killed three people after he made an illegal U-turn. An investigation found that he failed English and road sign tests.
The incident was cited in a lawsuit from Florida against California and Washington, D.C., that accused the states of jeopardizing lives and safety by erroneously granting illegal immigrants commercial licenses.
“Federal law requires that states issuing CDLs abide by relevant safety and immigration status standards,” Florida’s petition said. “California and Washington, however, chose to ignore these standards and authorize illegal immigrants without proper training or the ability to read road signs to drive commercial motor vehicles.”
FLORIDA SUES CALIFORNIA, WASHINGTON FOR LICENSING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
The U.S. stopped issuing work visas for commercial truck drivers in August, “in order to conduct a comprehensive and thorough review of screening and vetting protocols used to determine the qualifications for a U.S. visa,” a State Department spokesperson said at the time.
“As we have seen with recent deadly accidents, foreign truckers can pose risks to American lives, U.S. national security, and foreign policy interests,” they added. “Ensuring that every driver on our roads meets the highest standards is important to protecting the livelihoods of American truckers and maintaining a secure, resilient supply chain.”
