Intoxicated Indian illegal immigrant rams truck into traffic, kills 3 in California

The man, identified as Jashanpreet Singh, was arrested on charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated after his semi-truck ploughed into slow-moving traffic on a San Bernardino County freeway, according to US media reports.

Singh allegedly entered the US illegally in 2022, crossing the southern border and encountering Border Patrol agents in California’s El Centro Sector that March.

However, he was later released into the country under the Biden administration’s “alternatives to detention” policy, which allows undocumented migrants to await immigration hearings outside detention centres.

Dashcam footage from Singh’s Freightliner tractor-trailer reportedly captured the moment of impact as the vehicle crashed into an SUV, killing at least three people and injuring several others.

The deceased have yet to be identified, while Singh and a mechanic who was helping change a tyre were among those hurt.

Authorities said Singh never applied the brakes before colliding with the traffic jam and was under the influence of drugs at the time.

Toxicology tests confirmed the impairment.

“He was eventually transported to the hospital, and he was checked out by the medical staff, and our officers determined he was driving under the influence of drugs,” said CHP Officer Rodrigo Jimenez, as quoted by ABC7 News.

The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Singh lacks legal immigration status, and according to Fox News, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) has placed an immigration detainer on him following his arrest.

This case follows a similar incident in August when Harjinder Singh, another Indian immigrant who entered the US illegally in 2018, was charged in a Florida crash that killed three people. He had later obtained a commercial driver’s licence in California.