Tractor-truck driver arrested in fatal crash on Southern California highway was in the U.S. illegally, DHS says

Semi-trailer driver arrested for driving under the influence following a fatal accident on highway 10 in Ontario on Tuesday is in the United States illegally, according to Department of Homeland Security officials.

They told CBS News that Jashanpreet Singh, 21, is an Indian national who entered the country crossing the US-Mexico border in 2022. He resides in Yuba City, California, located in Sutter County, about 120 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Singh was arrested Tuesday by California Highway Patrol officers in connection with a collision involving eight vehicles, including four utility vehicles. The accident left three people dead and four others hospitalized in varying conditions. All of the victims were adults, Ontario Fire Department crews said.

San Bernardino County Jail records show Singh remains held Wednesday evening at the West Valley Detention Center in San Bernardino without bond. He was charged with driving under the influence of drugs causing bodily injury and drunken manslaughter. He is expected in court Thursday at Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court.

It is unclear whether Singh currently has legal representation. CHP officers told CBS LA they were investigating whether Singh was driving with a valid commercial driver’s license at the time of the crash.

In August, the US government stopped issuing work visas for commercial truck drivers. At the time, a State Department spokesperson said the pause was put in place “in order to conduct a comprehensive and thorough review of the screening and vetting protocols used to determine qualifications for a U.S. visa.”

“As we have seen recently with fatal crashes, foreign truckers can pose risks to American lives, to U.S. national security, and to U.S. foreign policy interests,” the State Department spokesperson said. “Ensuring every driver on our roads meets the highest standards is important to protect the livelihoods of America’s truckers and maintain a safe and resilient supply chain.”

California and Washington were sued by Florida last week for an August crash that left three people dead after the driver of a tractor-trailer attempted to make an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike in St. Lucie County. The driver in this crash, Harjinder Singh, also entered the United States illegally and obtained a commercial driver’s license from the US Marshals in California. told CBS News Miami in September.

The lawsuit alleges that the two states failed to follow federal security and immigration status requirements when issuing commercial driver’s licenses. The suit says California and Washington “have chosen to ignore these standards and allow illegal immigrants without proper training or the ability to read road signs to operate commercial vehicles.”