Highway High: ‘Impaired’ Indian-Origin Truck Driver Charged in Fatal California Crash That Killed Three

A 21-year-old Indian national has been charged with vehicular manslaughter after allegedly driving a semi-truck while under the influence of drugs and crashing into stopped traffic on Interstate 10, killing three people and injuring four others in a fiery chain-reaction collision that has sparked both grief and political controversy.

Jashanpreet Singh, a resident of Yuba City, California, was arrested at the scene on Tuesday afternoon, October 21, following the devastating crash near where the I-10 and I-15 freeways meet in San Bernardino County. Dashcam footage from Singh’s truck captured the horrifying moment when the semi plowed into stopped traffic at high speed, making no apparent attempt to brake.

A Preventable Tragedy

According to the California Highway Patrol, eight vehicles—including four commercial trucks—were involved in the collision. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said eyewitness and dashcam footage showed Singh “traveling at a high rate of speed into stopped traffic,” resulting in a “massive and chaotic scene,” ABC News reported.

A 54-year-old man driving a Toyota Tacoma and two occupants in a Kia Sorento were killed in the crash. A 43-year-old driver of a Dodge Avenger and a 59-year-old individual who was standing outside of a vehicle both suffered major injuries, while a 57-year-old passenger in a Chevrolet 2500 sustained a minor injury, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Among the deceased were a Los Angeles County high school basketball coach and his wife, according to ABC7 Chicago. The Pomona Unified School District confirmed the couple’s deaths but did not immediately release their names. The identity of the third victim has not been made public.

“The hardest part is knowing that at least three of these individuals will not have a Christmas, will not make it home as we get into the holiday season,” an official told ABC7.

Charges and Investigation

On Thursday, October 23, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office filed three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of DUI causing injury against Singh, according to ABC News. Additional charges may be filed pending further investigation.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson called the incident a “heinous tragedy” that was “easily avoidable if the defendant was not driving in a grossly negligent manner and impaired.”

According to news reports, toxicology tests confirmed that Singh was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash. U.S. Attorney for Central California Bill Essayli told Fox News that Singh was under the influence of some kind of “stimulant” and did not apply his brakes at all before crashing into the traffic.

“This is sadly a reminder of how precious life is and how fast it could be taken away at the hands of somebody who is driving irresponsibly, somebody who is impaired,” California Highway Patrol Officer Rodrigo Jimenez told Los Angeles ABC station KABC, according to ABC News.

Singh remained detained at the West Valley Detention Center in San Bernardino without bail as of Wednesday night, according to CBS Los Angeles. He was expected to appear in court on Friday at Rancho Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga.

Immigration Status and Federal Response

The crash has become a flashpoint in the ongoing political debate over immigration enforcement and commercial driver’s license regulations. According to multiple federal law enforcement sources who spoke to Fox News, Singh is an Indian national who entered the United States illegally by crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in California’s El Centro Sector in March 2022 and was released into the interior of the country pending an immigration hearing.

President Trump also weighed in on the controversy. “It would have never happened if Gavin Newsom had followed our new rules,” Trump said, according to Fox News. “California broke the law and now three people are dead and two are hospitalized. These people deserve justice. There will be consequences.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a detainer request for Singh on October 22, describing him as “a criminal illegal alien,” according to Fox News.

“It is a terrible tragedy three innocent people lost their lives due to the reckless open border policies that allowed an illegal alien to be released into the U.S. and drive an 18-wheeler on America’s highways,” Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Fox News. “This accident follows a disturbing trend of illegal aliens driving 18 wheelers and semi-trucks on America’s roads.”

The case has intensified scrutiny over how Singh obtained a commercial driver’s license (CDL) despite his immigration status. According to Fox News, Singh has a valid commercial driver’s license that expires in October 2026, as confirmed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in a press briefing Thursday that California issued Singh the commercial driver’s license.

However, California transportation officials defended their actions, noting that the federal government approved Singh’s Employment Authorization Documents, which allowed him to receive a federal REAL ID confirming his legal status for employment purposes. According to CBS Los Angeles, the federal government extended Singh’s legal employment authorization from April 24, 2025, to October 16, 2026, and then again to August 18, 2030.

“The state does not determine commercial driver’s license eligibility,” the California State Transportation Agency wrote in a post to X. “The FEDERAL government approves and renews all FEDERAL employment authorization documents that allows individuals to work and obtain commercial driver’s licenses.”

The timing of Singh’s licensing has also come under scrutiny. According to Fox News, on October 15—just six days before the crash—Singh turned 21 and had a restriction on his license removed. However, under an emergency Department of Transportation policy implemented in September, he should have been disqualified, authorities said.

Federal Warnings and Funding Withholding

The crash occurred just days after federal officials warned California about compliance issues with commercial driver’s licenses. According to Fox News, in September, federal officials demanded that California pause the issuance of new licenses to non-citizens and review existing licenses to ensure they followed federal rules, with non-compliant licenses to be revoked.

On October 15, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration would withhold over $40 million from California after a probe revealed the state failed to comply with English Language Proficiency standards for commercial drivers, Fox News reported.

In response to video of the crash, Duffy said: “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!”

President Trump also weighed in on the controversy. “It would have never happened if Gavin Newsom had followed our new rules,” Trump said, according to Fox News. “California broke the law and now three people are dead and two are hospitalized. These people deserve justice. There will be consequences.”

District Attorney Anderson echoed this sentiment: “Had the rule of law been followed by State and Federal officials the defendant should have never been in California at all,” he said in a statement, according to ABC News.

California’s Response

A spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom’s office pushed back against federal criticism, pointing to the federal government’s role in the matter.

“This is a tragic situation. And as with every tragedy over the last ten months, Secretary Noem has ordered Secretary Duffy to look for every opportunity to manipulate the facts to score cheap political points, but the FEDERAL government needs to look within before they cast blame outside,” the governor’s office told Fox News Digital.

“The FEDERAL government approved and renewed this individual’s FEDERAL employment authorization multiple times—which allowed him to obtain a commercial driver’s license,” the statement continued.

A Personal Portrait

CBS Sacramento spoke with Singh’s best friend, Gurjot Malhar, who described him as someone who came to the United States seeking a better life.

“He’s an amazing guy. … He would talk normally, happily, always with love and care,” Malhar said, according to CBS Los Angeles. “Coming from India, it’s gonna be hard to make dollars here.”

The incident has been linked to what federal officials describe as a troubling trend. This crash comes almost two months after another Indian truck driver, Harjinder Singh, was booked under vehicular homicide for crashing into a minivan while attempting an illegal U-turn in Florida, killing three people.

In that case, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Harjinder Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018 and obtained a commercial driver’s license in California. Florida subsequently sued both California and Washington state for allegedly failing to comply with federal safety and immigration-status requirements when issuing commercial driver’s licenses.

According to CBS Los Angeles, the lawsuit alleges that both states “chose to ignore these standards and authorize illegal immigrants without proper training or the ability to read road signs to drive commercial motor vehicles.”

DHS also recently highlighted a fatal accident in Indiana caused by another person in the country illegally who was driving a semi-truck without a valid commercial license when he swerved into oncoming traffic, killing the driver, ABC News reported.

McLaughlin concluded her statement by saying: “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE is working day-in and day-out to make America’s roads safe again.”

This story was aggregated by AI from several news reports and edited by American Kahani’s News Desk.