21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh, who allegedly hit and killed three people on the 10 Freeway in Ontario, California, has been cleared of the DUI charges in a big update in the case, as initially the Indian-origin driver in the US was accused of drunk-driving that led to the fatal crash. In a news release as reported by CBS News, the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office said, "Toxicology reports confirmed none of the substances tested were present in the defendant's blood at the time the test was rendered."
Jashanpreet's family in India claimed that he was a baptized (Amritdhaari) Sikh and never did drugs or indulged in alcohol; hence the charge of DUI was not possible. Jashanpreet too pleaded not guilty to the charges in the court, including driving under the influence of drugs, causing bodily injury, and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
The amended charges against him now are: three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of reckless driving on a highway causing a specified injury. Prosecutors did not state whether it's believed that Singh fell asleep at the wheel, was distracted or if any other factors could be involved. It was evident that he failed to stop his truck before it crashed into the back of another vehicle, triggering a chain-reaction crash.
Jashanpreet was sent to jail after his first appearance in court until the next scheduled court date tomorrow. The Sikh Community condemned how Jashanpreet was made to appear in the court without his turban, which was called disrespectful to the Sikh community.
The Department of Homeland Security claims he's an undocumented immigrant who crossed the US-Mexico border in 2022. But Jashanpreet had Employment Authorization Documents valid up to 2039 and a commercial driver's license -- making it clear that he was not doing anything illegal.
The incident triggered such a massive debate over the administration's leniency that the Donald Trump administration stopped the system of automatic renewal of EADs.
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