Truck chain-reaction crash in California: 'Illegal immigrant' Jashanpreet Singh arrested for killing 3; 21-year old Indian-origin was under influence

A 21-year-old Indian national, identified as Jashanpreet Singh, has been arrested in Southern California for causing a fiery crash that killed at least three people. He was driving an 18-wheeler truck under the influence.


According to Fox News, Singh’s semi-truck plowed into slow-moving traffic on Interstate 10 in San Bernardino County, killing three people and injuring several others. Dashcam footage showed the truck never braking before impact. Toxicology tests confirmed that Singh was under the influence of a substance at the time of the crash.

The Department of Homeland Security said that Singh was not a lawful immigrant and that ICE has lodged a detainer following his arrest. He faces multiple charges, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Singh illegally crossed the southern US border in 2022 and was released into the country under the Biden administration’s "alternatives to detention" policy pending an immigration hearing.

The incident comes amid growing scrutiny of commercial driver licensing standards for non-citizens. In August, another Indian national, Harjinder Singh, who entered the US illegally in 2018 and obtained a California commercial license, was charged in Florida for a crash that also killed three people.

Transportation secretary Sean Duffy recently criticized California for failing to enforce federal English proficiency requirements for truck drivers, warning that the federal government would withhold over $40 million in highway safety funds as a result.