FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — Harjinder Singh, the truck driver accused in the Florida Turnpike crash that killed three people and sparked a national debate over commercial driver licensing, immigration status and trucking regulations, appeared in person inside a St. Lucie County courtroom Wednesday afternoon.
During the hearing, the judge denied a motion seeking to quash a notice of appearance filed by an attorney connected to the case.
Harjinder Singh, the truck driver accused in the Florida Turnpike crash that killed three people and sparked a national debate over commercial driver licensing, immigration status and trucking regulations, appeared in person inside a St. Lucie County courtroom Wednesday afternoon. (WPEC)
The hearing comes one day after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Florida’s lawsuit against California and Washington over commercial driver licensing practices tied to the broader controversy surrounding the case.
Troopers say Harjinder Singh, 28, cut across the highway using an “Official Use Only” access point near mile marker 171 in Fort Pierce on August 12. His tractor-trailer stretched across all northbound lanes, leaving the minivan with no time to brake.(Credit St. Lucie Co. Sheriff’s Office // Credit Instagram)
Investigators say Singh made an illegal U-turn through an “Official Use Only” crossover on Florida’s Turnpike near Fort Pierce in August 2025, blocking all lanes of traffic and causing a crash that killed three people. Prosecutors charged Singh in connection with the deaths. He has pleaded not guilty.
What began as a fatal crash investigation quickly turned into a national debate over commercial driver licensing standards, immigration status and English proficiency requirements for truck drivers.
See also: Supreme Court rejects Florida’s lawsuit over immigrant truck driver licenses
Federal records cited by Florida alleged Singh entered the United States illegally in 2018 and later obtained commercial driver’s licenses in Washington and California. After the crash, questions emerged about whether Singh could properly read English road signs and whether states were following federal commercial licensing standards.
The fallout eventually reached Washington, D.C., with St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro Jr. testifying before Congress earlier this year about what he described as dangerous gaps in the commercial driver licensing system.
“For the families of those victims, this is not a policy debate. It’s a permanent loss,” Del Toro told lawmakers during congressional testimony.
Florida later sued California and Washington, claiming the states failed to follow federal standards tied to immigration status and English proficiency requirements for commercial drivers.
This week, however, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, ending Florida’s effort to take the dispute directly to the nation’s highest court.
See also: Charges dismissed for woman without right hand cited for holding phone while driving
The decision did not address whether Florida’s arguments were correct, only whether the case would move forward. But, Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, dissented, arguing the court should have heard Florida’s case because disputes between states fall directly under the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction. Thomas wrote that Florida had “nowhere else to bring” its claims.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Florida’s lawsuit against California and Washington over commercial driver licensing practices connected to the case, ending Florida’s attempt to take the dispute directly to the nation’s highest court. (WPEC)
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which represents more than 130,000 small-business truckers nationwide, said the case exposed broader concerns within the trucking industry.
“The real issue is the barrier of entry in trucking is so low,” said Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of OOIDA.
Pugh, a former truck driver with more than two million safe driving miles, argued the issue extends far beyond one lawsuit.
“If we’d addressed that problem, this person would have never been behind a wheel of a truck in the first place,” Pugh said. “It takes 1600 hours to be a barber here in the state of Missouri where to be a truck driver, you can get a CDL 24 hours.”
He called the controversy “a highway safety issue” and said truckers have raised concerns about commercial licensing standards for years.
Florida has since tightened enforcement involving commercial drivers, including stricter English testing and greater scrutiny of some commercial licenses.
Court records show Singh remains held without bond as the criminal case continues in St. Lucie County.