A 21‑year‑old driver from India was scheduled to testify in San Bernardino County court this week after he pleaded not guilty to downgraded charges that stem from a fatal tractor‑trailer crash on the 10 Freeway. The incident, which happened last month, turned the westbound lanes into a pile‑up that killed three people and injured four more.
Jashanpreet Singh, who lives in California, was brought into the courthouse wearing orange jail scrubs and handcuffs but without his Sikh turban, a request he had made. Test results showed he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he lost control of his semi‑truck in slow traffic. Because of that, the original charges—vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence—were dropped.
The new complaint in the Superior Court file names three counts: vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and reckless driving. If convicted, Singh faces up to ten years in prison, a reduction from the potential seventeen years that were on the table under the earlier, harsher charges.
The judge ruled that Singh cannot be released on bail and set his next appearance for Thursday. On that day he may move to wear his religious head covering in court, a request that the judge has yet to grant.
While Singh remains in jail, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has notified local authorities that it will request a detainer before any release. He entered the United States illegally in 2022, according to a Homeland Security statement, and only gained permission to stay under a transportation‑policy exception.
The crash that sparked the criminal case was captured on dashcam footage, showing the red tractor‑trailer lumbering into a lane and smashing through eight vehicles before splintering against a white truck. The 10 Freeway was shut down for hours while investigators pieced together what happened.
Following the disaster, a Department of Transportation report accused California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, of improperly upgrading Singh’s commercial driver’s license (CDL). The report said that a state law—effective September 26—was designed to prevent illegal immigrants from holding a CDL. However, Singh’s license was upgraded from a restricted state‑only CDL to a full out‑of‑state CDL on October 15, the report notes.
The victims of the crash were identified as a 76‑year‑old couple, Clarence and Lisa Nelson of Fontana, and Jaime Flores Garcia, 54, from Upland. Two Republican lawmakers—Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Andy Barr—have already asked the Department of Transportation’s secretary, Sean Duffy, to review the CDL‑approval programs after Singh’s crash, as well as another collision involving Harjinder Singh, an alleged illegal immigrant from India who also killed three people in Florida in August.
The case highlights the growing tension over the licensing of commercial drivers who may have entered the U.S. illegally. As the court process continues, officials will weigh both criminal liability and immigration status in determining Singh’s future.
Source: New York Post
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