Illegal Immigrant Trucker Pleads Not Guilty in Florida Crash That Killed 3

An illegal immigrant truck driver on Sep. 29 entered a plea of not guilty to three charges of vehicular homicide in a crash that killed three in Florida in August. The man, a native of India, waived his first court appearance.

Harjinder Singh is accused of causing the crash on Aug. 12 when he made an illegal U-turn in an 18-wheeler on the Florida Turnpike, about 50 miles outside of West Palm Beach. A minivan with three occupants was unable to avoid the truck’s trailer as it stretched across the lanes and crashed into it.

Singh and his passenger were unharmed. He boarded a plane out of state the next day, but was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Stockton, California, a few days later, on Aug. 16.

He is currently being held at the St. Lucie County jail without bond and faces deportation.

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Singh entered the United States illegally in 2018 through Mexico and was able to obtain a commercial driver’s license in California.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation revealed that Singh had previously been issued a commercial driver’s license in Washington state, even though illegal immigrants—or those seeking asylum—are not supposed to receive such a license.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Singh’s attorney for comment.

The fatal crash prompted a series of actions from the Trump administration.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Aug. 21 that the United States would pause issuing new worker visas for commercial truck drivers.

“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” he wrote on X.

Months before the crash, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced new regulations requiring drivers who could not pass an English proficiency test to be taken off-duty.

On Aug. 26, Duffy announced that California, Washington, and New Mexico had failed to comply with those requirements. He warned that if they did not do so, they would be stripped of tens of millions of dollars in federal funding under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program.

“As we saw with the horrific Florida crash that killed three, when states fail to enforce the law, they put the driving public in danger,” he said in a statement.

On Sep. 26, Duffy said a recent national audit revealed that states were not providing proper oversight when issuing commercial licenses to immigrants; some were issued licenses illegally, while others had licenses renewed after their work visas had expired.

Duffy announced new, stricter requirements to shore up those gaps. Among other requirements, applicants must present an unexpired passport, show up in person for renewals, and undergo an immigration background check through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system.