Punjabi truck driver faces vehicular homicide charges in Florida crash that left three dead
PTC Web Desk: The Florida authorities have charged a 28-year-old Indian-origin truck driver, Harjinder Singh, with three counts of vehicular homicide after a highway crash claimed three lives. Singh allegedly attempted an illegal U-turn with his tractor-trailer across a busy highway on August 12, leading to a minivan colliding with the truck.
According to reports, Singh fled to California after the incident but was later arrested and extradited to Florida. “He thought he could run. @GovRonDeSantis and I brought him back to face justice,” Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins wrote on social media.
A video circulating online shows the truck moving through an “Official Use Only” cut-through on the highway before blocking almost all lanes of traffic, resulting in the fatal crash.
Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, criticised California’s policies, alleging that Singh obtained a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) despite being in the country illegally. “Three innocent persons were killed in Florida because Gavin Newsom’s California DMV issued an illegal alien a Commercial Driver's License — this state of governance is asinine,” she wrote.
She further added, “How many more innocent people have to die before @GavinNewsom stops playing games with the safety of the American public? We pray for the victims and their families. DHS is working around the clock to protect the public and remove such criminal illegal aliens from America.”
Following the incident, US Senator Marco Rubio announced a temporary suspension of commercial truck driver work visas, citing risks to American road safety and competition faced by domestic truckers.
Reports also revealed that Singh entered the US illegally in 2018 and had managed to secure commercial driver’s licenses in both California and Washington.
- With inputs from agencies
