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A truck driver accused of causing an eight-vehicle crash on a freeway in California, which left three people dead, had illegally crossed the border into the U.S. in 2022, it has been reported.
21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh was arrested at the scene of the crash on Tuesday, on suspicion of causing the pile-up while under the influence of drugs, and is due in court on Thursday this week on several felony charges.
Singh, an Indian National, was first encountered by Border Patrol agents in California’s El Centro Sector in March 2022 and was then released ahead of an immigration hearing as part of the Biden administration’s “alternatives to detention” program.
Before the end of Joe Biden’s presidency, almost 200,000 people without legal status who were in removal proceedings were enrolled in the program, which allows certain immigrants to live in the U.S. while their immigration cases are pending.
Jashanpreet Singh, 21, has been arrested on suspicion of causing a crash which left three dead, while under the influence of drugs (DHS)
The crash occurred when Singh, driving a semi-truck, smashed into vehicles from behind on the 10 Freeway in the city of Ontario in San Bernardino County.
Three people were killed, and four others were injured as the big rig collided with two cars, two pick-up trucks, and four other semi-trucks.
Shocking dashcam footage of the crash, captured by the vehicle Singh was driving, shows the high-speed moment of impact and subsequent fire.
“It didn’t stop. It didn’t swerve. It didn’t make any kind of maneuvers. It just went straight in,” witness, Jason Calmelat told NBC News.
“[Singh] 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,” California Highway Patrol Officer Rodrigo Jimenez told ABC7.
The crash comes as the Trump administration has announced that it will withhold over $40m in federal highway safety funds from California, citing the state’s failure to meet English language proficiency standards for truck drivers.
This announcement came in the wake of another crash caused by another Indian national, Harjinder Singh, who had also crossed into the U.S. illegally and is also accused of causing the deaths of three people in an August crash in Florida.
A row erupted when the Department of Homeland Security claimed he entered the US illegally from Mexico in 2018 and obtained a commercial driver’s licence in California, despite having no legal right to be in the US and failing an English proficiency exam.
However, California officials say federal authorities told them he had a legal work permit when the state issued him a driver’s licence.
Tuesday’s crash has seen the government double down, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posting on X: “This is exactly why @USDOT has withheld $40 MILLION from California for failure to comply with our rules to protect drivers. We cannot allow our roads to be a dangerous place!”