Investigators said the driver responsible for the crash was in the country illegally.
YUBA CITY, Calif. — A deadly crash in Southern California is sparking political outrage and connecting to Northern California after investigators said the driver responsible was in the country illegally.
Three people died in the Tuesday crash, which investigators said was caused by 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh, who prosecutors said was behind the wheel of a truck while under the influence.
Singh is now in jail, facing three charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one charge of driving under the influence of a drug, causing injury.
In the Yuba City neighborhood where Singh lived, neighbors declined to speak on camera.
At the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a detainer for Singh after his arrest.
“On October 22, ICE lodged an immigration detainer for this individual following his arrest by local authorities in California,” Leavitt said. “I know Secretary Duffy, who is doing a phenomenal job, has spoken on this many times, and the crackdown that the Department of Transportation is taking on these licenses that are wrongfully being issued to people who clearly do not deserve to uphold these positions.”
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Singh came to the U.S. from India in 2022, entering illegally through the southern border. The White House said California issued Singh a driver’s license.
In an email to ABC10, the California Department of Motor Vehicles said it followed all federal laws and standards when issuing Singh’s license and that the federal government had approved his employment authorization documents.
Transportation law attorney Joe Camerlengo said the crash underscores a larger national problem.
“It’s broad daylight, there’s no sign that says stop ahead, it’s just somebody who’s not paying attention,” Camerlengo said. “For these crashes to stop, it needs to be a federal and state effort.”
The Florida-based attorney, who has practiced transportation law for 17 years, said change is urgently needed.
“The problem is right now, there are people coming from all over the world to the United States just to form trucking companies because it’s so easy. It’s literally pay $300, sign a form, get the insurance, ‘Wala,’ you’re a motor carrier,” Camerlengo said. “Every 14 minutes, someone is killed in a tractor-trailer crash in our country, and it’s getting worse, not better.”
Watch more from ABC10: CHP: Yuba City truck driver accused of DUI in deadly I-10 Ontario crash
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