A judge sentenced a 21-year-old Indian national whom federal authorities said was in the U.S. illegally to four years and eight months in prison Tuesday for causing a fiery Southern California crash that killed three people last year.
Jashanpreet Singh pleaded guilty to three felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence stemming from the October 2025 crash, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Authorities said Singh was driving a semitruck that plowed into slow-moving traffic on Interstate 10 in San Bernardino County, killing three people and injuring several others.
Fox News Digital previously reported that Singh is an illegal immigrant from India who crossed the southern border in 2022 and the Biden administration released him into the United States.
According to federal sources, Border Patrol agents first encountered Singh in California’s El Centro Sector in March 2022 and released him pending an immigration hearing.
Dashcam video captured the crash, which showed Singh never applying the brakes before slamming into traffic, according to investigators.
Singh obtained a California commercial driver’s license in June 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
In September, federal officials warned California they had uncovered compliance issues involving commercial driver’s licenses and directed the state to make corrections, including pausing the issuance of new licenses to noncitizens and reviewing existing licenses to ensure they complied with federal requirements.
Anyone who did not meet the criteria was supposed to have their license revoked.
Federal officials said an emergency Department of Transportation policy should have disqualified Singh. California officials said Singh’s CDL eligibility was based on federally approved employment authorization documents, while federal transportation officials said new emergency rules should have disqualified him. However, on Oct. 15, after he turned 21, officials removed a restriction on his commercial driver’s license.
Just six days later, authorities said Singh was driving the semitruck involved in the deadly crash.
Toxicology testing later confirmed Singh was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Leave a Comment