MOAB, Utah (KUTV) — Newly released body cam video from the Moab Police Department shows how a routine traffic stop in Moab led to the arrest of a California truck driver wanted in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash.
Chamkaur Singh, 30, was stopped by Moab Police earlier this month after officers say he was driving a semi-truck 20 miles over the posted speed limit on U.S. 191 near 500 West.
During the traffic stop, an officer ran Singh’s information and discovered an outstanding warrant from California.
MORE: Semi-truck driver arrested in Moab in connection with California homicide investigation
The video shows officers putting Singh in handcuffs before telling him why they were detaining him.
“There’s a warrant out of California that matches your information,” a Moab officer can be heard telling Singh in the video.
Police contacted the California Highway Patrol and San Bernardino County authorities to confirm the warrant. Officers then took Singh into custody without incident.
“So, we got in touch with California San Bernardino County, okay, they confirmed it is you on that warrant so this time you are under arrest,” another officer tells Singh in the video.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the warrant stemmed from a deadly chain-reaction crash on westbound Interstate 10 in Ontario on March 29.
CHP said officers were initially responding to a two-vehicle crash involving a black Honda Accord and an unoccupied disabled Volkswagen Passat parked on the right shoulder.
As traffic slowed near the crash, a white Kenworth tractor-trailer traveling in the slow lane allegedly rear-ended a black Honda Civic.
The crash killed the Civic’s passenger and critically injured its driver.
The impact pushed the Civic into a red Lexus, which then struck a purple Honda Fit. The Kenworth continued onto the right shoulder, where CHP said it struck the disabled Volkswagen.
The Volkswagen was then pushed into the driver of the Honda Accord, who was standing on the shoulder. That person was also killed.
In all, CHP said seven vehicles were involved in the series of crashes. Two other people suffered injuries ranging from minor to major and were taken to hospitals.
The driver of the Kenworth allegedly fled the scene before officers arrived.
CHP later identified Singh as the suspect and issued a warrant charging him in connection with the deadly crash.
Singh was arrested roughly five months after the March crash and was still behind the wheel of a semi-truck when Moab Police pulled him over.
“The only thing that caught this was a speeding ticket,” Douglass said.
Although it’s unknown if Singh was driving for a carrier during the accident or his arrest, trucking industry expert Jason Douglass said there are a couple of ways he could’ve slipped through the radar.
Douglass said there can be gaps in how trucking companies monitor drivers after they are hired, particularly when information from an incident does not immediately reach an employer.
“What I can see happening, is you run that [Motor Vehicle Record] and background when you hire them, and if they get in an accident, sometimes you don’t know,” Douglass said.
An MVR, or motor vehicle record, can provide employers with information about a driver’s driving history.
He said carriers should go beyond an annual review of drivers’ records and regularly monitor their safety and compliance information. He also said federal background checks aren’t mandated.
“Carriers need to set safety and compliance, the standard of making sure that they’re doing more than just yearly, that they’re monitoring those MVRs,” Douglass said.
Following the Moab traffic stop, Singh was booked into the Grand County Jail. Police also issued him a speeding citation and impounded the semi-truck he was driving.
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