Indian-origin truck driver sober at time of crash but faces negligent homicide charges: US

New York: An Indian-origin driver who crashed his semi-truck killing three people in California last month was not driving while intoxicated, contrary to initial reports, but the case remains a grossly negligent homicide, US authorities have said.

Jashanpreet Singh, 21, of Yuba City was arrested on October 21 under suspicion of ‘driving under the influence’ (DUI) and was charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence as well as DUI causing injury in the multi-vehicle crash.

Three people were killed and several others seriously injured in the crash in Ontario, California.

An updated complaint, filed last week, said that toxicology reports confirmed that none of the substances tested were present in Singh’s blood at the time the test was rendered.

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“However, the case remains a grossly negligent homicide,” the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said.

The updated complaint includes the three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, as well as the new charge of ‘reckless driving on a highway causing a specified injury’.

Eyewitness and dashcam footage showed Singh travelling at a high speed into stopped traffic.

“This is a heinous tragedy that took three lives and severely injured others. Frankly, it was easily avoidable if the defendant was not driving in a grossly negligent manner and impaired. Had the rule of law been followed by State and Federal officials, the defendant should have never been in California at all,” San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson had said.

No bail was set for Singh, and authorities said they will continue to request no bail based on the seriousness of the offence and his flight risk.

Singh, an illegal immigrant, had crossed the southern border of the US in 2022 and was released pending an immigration hearing, according to a report in Fox News last month.

This is the second such incident since August in which an Indian-origin truck driver has been accused of causing a deadly crash in the US.

On August 12, Harjinder Singh, 28, allegedly made an illegal U-turn in his tractor-trailer in Florida, causing a deadly crash which killed three people. He faces three counts of vehicular homicide.

Following the incident, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had announced a pause to all issuances of commercial truck driver work visas.

“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” Rubio had posted on social media.

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