{"id":179539,"date":"2026-03-05T17:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/179539\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T17:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:39:11","slug":"st-lucie-co-sheriff-tells-congress-deadly-florida-turnpike-crash-exposed-cdl-gaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/179539\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Lucie Co. sheriff tells Congress deadly Florida Turnpike crash exposed CDL ‘gaps’"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A deadly crash on Florida\u2019s Turnpike that killed three people in St. Lucie County is now at the center of a national debate over commercial truck driver licensing.<\/a><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro traveled to Washington, D.C., to testify before a congressional subcommittee investigating whether gaps in the commercial driver\u2019s license system allowed the driver involved in the crash to legally operate a semi-truck.<\/p>\n

\"On<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro traveled to Washington, D.C., to testify before a congressional subcommittee investigating whether gaps in the commercial driver\u2019s license system allowed the driver involved in the crash to legally operate a semi-truck. (WPEC)<\/p>\n

\u201cThree innocent people in my county lost their lives in a catastrophic crash on the Florida Turnpike involving a commercial motor vehicle,\u201d Del Toro told lawmakers. \u201cFor the families of those victims, this is not a policy debate. It\u2019s a permanent loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

The crash that sparked national attention<\/p>\n

The crash happened Aug. 12, 2025<\/a>, when investigators say truck driver Harjinder Singh attempted an illegal U-turn across the northbound lanes of Florida\u2019s Turnpike in St. Lucie County.<\/p>\n

A minivan traveling at highway speed slammed into the side of the tractor-trailer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an illegal U-turn in the middle of our Florida Turnpike \u2014 really for no reason,\u201d Del Toro testified. \u201cThree people who were traveling close to 80 miles an hour went underneath the back of that truck and lost their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

All three people inside the minivan were killed.<\/p>\n

\"Troopers<\/p>\n

Troopers say Harjinder Singh attempted an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike near Fort Pierce on August 12, placing his semi-truck directly in the path of a minivan. The van slammed into the trailer, killing all three passengers. Singh is now charged with three counts of vehicular homicide. (Credit TikTok){ }<\/p>\n

Authorities say Singh, an Indian national, entered the United States illegally in 2018 and was issued a notice to appear in immigration court.<\/p>\n

According to testimony in the hearing, Singh failed a commercial driver\u2019s license test multiple times in Washington state before eventually obtaining a CDL in California earlier in 2025.<\/p>\n

Singh has pleaded not guilty<\/a> to charges including vehicular homicide and remains jailed in St. Lucie County.<\/p>\n

How the CDL system came under scrutiny<\/p>\n

The case quickly drew national attention \u2014 not just because of the crash itself, but because of questions about how truck drivers are licensed across different states.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen these standards vary between states, those inconsistencies can create vulnerabilities that place our communities at risk,\u201d Del Toro told the committee.<\/p>\n

Commercial trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, he noted, meaning mistakes behind the wheel can have devastating consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommercial motor vehicles can weigh up to 80,000 pounds,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cWhen operated unsafely, they have the potential to cause devastating consequences in a matter of seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hearing comes as federal regulators prepare new rules aimed at tightening how commercial driver\u2019s licenses \u2014 particularly \u201cnon-domiciled\u201d CDLs issued to non-U.S. residents \u2014 are verified and issued nationwide.<\/p>\n

What Florida says it has changed<\/p>\n

Del Toro told lawmakers Florida has already taken steps to strengthen its system.<\/p>\n

According to the sheriff, Florida now verifies immigration status electronically through the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s SAVE system, scans and stores documentation used to verify identity and legal presence, and requires drivers with temporary legal status to apply for licenses in person.<\/p>\n

\"Troopers<\/p>\n

Troopers say Harjinder Singh, 28, cut across the highway using an \u201cOfficial Use Only\u201d 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 DHS, St. Lucie Co. Sheriff’s Office)<\/p>\n

The state also now marks licenses issued to non-citizens with temporary status and has moved to require CDL testing to be conducted in English.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe written CDL knowledge test was previously provided in Spanish and English,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cFlorida recently changed its policy so that all driver\u2019s license testing must be taken in English only.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida also paused issuing non-domiciled CDLs in November 2025 until updated federal rules take effect later this month.<\/p>\n

See also: What is an AI data center? Palm Beach County debate over Project Tango explained<\/a><\/p>\n

Del Toro said the goal is not to penalize immigrants who are legally in the country, but to ensure drivers operating large commercial vehicles meet strict safety standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t to hurt anybody that\u2019s here legally in our country,\u201d he told lawmakers. \u201cIt\u2019s just a way to vet it out and increase our standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

A call for national consistency<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the sheriff said the issue should not be political.<\/p>\n

\u201cHighway safety is not a partisan issue,\u201d Del Toro said. \u201cIt is a public safety responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A deadly crash on Florida\u2019s Turnpike that killed three people in St. Lucie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179540,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-179539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}