California, November 4 — Toxicology reports have cleared 21-year-old Indian-origin truck driver Jashanpreet Singh of intoxication in a deadly California crash that killed three people last month, but prosecutors are moving ahead with gross negligence homicide charges.
Singh, from Yuba City, was arrested after his semi-truck ploughed into stationary traffic in Ontario, California. Eyewitnesses said he was driving at excessive speed. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said the crash was “a grossly negligent act” and not the result of impairment.
Authorities confirmed Singh had entered the US illegally in 2022 through the southern border and was awaiting an immigration hearing. He remains in custody without bail.
The incident follows a similar crash in Florida in August involving another Indian-origin truck driver, Harjinder Singh, who allegedly caused three deaths after making an illegal U-turn. The back-to-back cases have intensified political debate around foreign commercial drivers.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month announced a pause on new commercial truck driver visas, citing “growing safety and labour concerns.”
