After Florida crash kills 3, administration says Indian-origin trucker was in US illegally

THE US Department of Homeland Security said on Monday that the Indian origin truck driver accused of making an illegal U-turn that killed three people in Florida has been living in the country illegally.

The announcement led to a verbal tussle with California Governor Gavin Newsom's office over immigration.

Details about the crash

The truck driver involved, Harjinder Singh, made the illegal turn last Tuesday from northbound lanes of Florida's Turnpike, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. 

A minivan could not avoid the truck's trailer as it was blocking the northbound lanes, causing the fatal crash, AP reported.

Two passengers in the minivan died at the scene, and the driver died at a hospital. Singh and another passenger in his truck were not injured.

Driver's immigration status

Even though Florida authorities said that he entered the US illegally from Mexico in 2018, much of his immigration history is still not clear, including his country of citizenship and whether and when he obtained legal status. 

Homeland Security said Singh received a commercial driver's license in California, that issues resident driving licenses regardless of their immigration status, the news report said. 

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for Homeland Security, said issuing a commercial license to someone in the country illegally is “asinine."

Newsom's press office, which has been in a heated debate over congressional redistricting, responded on X that Singh received a work permit while Donald Trump was the president.

McLaughlin disputed that information, saying that the government had denied him a permit during Trump's first term in September 2020 and granted him one in June 2021, under President Joe Biden, AP reported. 

Driver charged for homicide

Singh has been charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). 

The federal government has ordered his immediate transfer to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after his criminal case is complete.

The truck was attempting to make a U-turn in an area marked for “official use only,” the highway patrol said. The video of the crash was obtained by Breaking911, the news report said.