Florida highway horror: Harjinder Singh's U-turn killed 3 Haitian immigrants; one had Biden-era work permit

The three victims, killed when an illegal Indian-origin driver, Harjinder Singh, made a reckless U-turn on a Florida highway earlier this month, were not Americans but Haitian immigrants.

According to a report from the Miami Herald, the driver, Herby Dufresne, 30, and passengers Faniola Joseph, 27, and Rodrigue Dor, 53, were all Haitian immigrants who were in the minivan that ploughed into an 18-wheeler truck driven by Singh.

One had Biden-era work permit

The report cited a friend of the victim who claimed that Dufresne arrived in Miami in December 2023 from Port-au-Prince. Later, after obtaining a financial sponsor under the Biden era, he got a two-year permit to live and work in US.

However, there is very little information about the other two victims, Joseph and Dor's arrival or immigration. The Miami Herald reported that the two previously lived in Florida.

Victims were travelling to Indiana

The friend told the outlet that all three victims were travelling to Indiana, where Dor relocated after failing to secure work in Miami.

The incident was condemned widely, which showed Singh making a U-turn that led to the horrific accident. Singh, who came to US illegally in 2018, failed English proficiency exams administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration after the deadly incident.

According to the department of transportation, Singh was only able to read one of the four signs during the test.

He was about to be deported in 2018, but was granted a work permit under the Biden administration in 2021. Singh, who is in jail in Florida, received a commercial driver's license in California in 2024 and one in Washington in 2023.