Singh's semi-truck slams into eight vehicles without braking, causing fire; three dead, four injured on I-10 freeway.
21-year-old illegal immigrant from India, impaired by drugs; arrested on manslaughter and DUI charges.
Second Indian trucker incident in 2025 sparks visa pauses, lawsuits, and funding threats over lax foreign driver licensing.
A 21-year-old Indian-origin truck driver was arrested Tuesday after allegedly causing a fiery multi-vehicle crash on a Southern California freeway while under the influence of drugs, resulting in three deaths and four injuries. The incident, captured on dashcam footage, has reignited debates over immigration and licensing for foreign truckers in the U.S.
Jashanpreet Singh, a resident of Yuba City, California, was driving a Freightliner semi-truck when he rear-ended an SUV in slow-moving traffic on the eastbound Interstate 10 near the I-15 junction around 1:10 p.m. The impact triggered a chain reaction involving eight vehicles, including four commercial trucks, igniting flames and scattering debris across the highway. Toxicology tests confirmed Singh was impaired, and he did not apply brakes before colliding, according to California Highway Patrol (CHP) reports.
Federal authorities revealed Singh entered the U.S. illegally via the Mexico border in March 2022 and was released pending an immigration hearing. CHP is investigating whether he held a valid commercial driver's license. Singh, detained without bail at West Valley Detention Center, faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing bodily injury, and three counts of vehicular homicide.
The victims' identities remain undisclosed, with four survivors hospitalized in varying conditions. This marks the second fatal crash involving an Indian-origin truck driver this year; in August, Harjinder Singh, another illegal immigrant, was charged in Florida for a crash killing three after an illegal U-turn. The incidents have prompted U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to criticize California's licensing practices and threaten to withhold $40 million in federal funds over lax English proficiency enforcement. Florida recently sued California and Washington over similar issues.
