ONTARIO, CA: An Indian-origin truck driver, Jashanpreet Singh, 21, has been arrested for a fatal multi-vehicle crash on California’s 10 Freeway in Ontario on October 21 that left three people dead and four injured. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since confirmed that Singh is an illegal immigrant who was previously apprehended and released at the California border in March 2022 under the current administration’s policies.
Singh, a Punjabi Sikh, was allegedly under the influence of a banned substance at the time of the collision, with toxicology reports confirming impairment. Dashcam footage of the incident, which occurred in San Bernardino County, shows Singh’s semi-truck ramming into slow-moving traffic without applying the brakes, causing a devastating chain-reaction crash.
The incident has intensified a national debate on federal immigration and trucking safety standards. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy weighed in, saying the crash highlights California’s failure to enforce English language proficiency standards for commercial drivers. Duffy reiterated the Trump administration’s threat to withhold $40 million in federal highway safety funding from the state due to non-compliance, stating that the ability to read road signs and communicate with law enforcement is a “fundamental safety issue.”
The arrest comes months after a similar fatal crash in Florida involving another Indian-origin truck driver, Harjinder Singh, which had already spurred a backlash and a spike in anti-Sikh rhetoric against the community, who frequently pursue high-paying trucking jobs in the US.