A semi-truck driver who plowed into at least three other vehicles leading to a pileup on the I-10 Freeway in Ontario in which three people were killed was in the country illegally, does not appear to have been properly trained or licensed as a commercial carrier and was likely driving under the influence of a yet-undisclosed substance, according to local, state and federal authorities.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old Indian national who entered the country by crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022, was at the wheel of a Freightliner tractor pulling a trailer while headed westbound on the 10 Freeway just east of the I-15 Freeway. The dashcam video from Singh’s cab, obtained by the Sentinel, shows the red Freightliner tractor in the number four lane, counting the high occupancy/toll lane as the number one lane, traveling at a high rate of speed estimated at 60 miles per hour or more, failing to brake entirely as it runs into the back of and obliterates a white SUV that had been at a full stop for several seconds before the impact and continues on into the back of a white pickup truck, which is hit hard and careens to the left as the Freightliner continues unabated into the back of another semi-tractor-pulled trailer, the rear of which momentarily lifts into the air upon impact. The momentum of the Freightliner at that point was diminished, though it careened to the right across two lanes of traffic where it ran into the front of a disable tractor connected to a long flatbed trailer and the back of the service truck in front of the disabled tractor that were in place on the shoulder of the freeway. The disabled tractors front hood was draped open forward and appeared to have been clipped and destroyed along with major elements of the truck’s engine in the collision.
Singh survived the crash relatively intact, with only a minor contusion. Based not only on an objective assessment of his condition after the crash but on the analysis of the dashcam footage, Singh was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. He also faces, at present, three counts of manslaughter. In California, driving while intoxicated in a situation in which a collision results in death can be prosecuted as murder, gross vehicular manslaughter or gross vehicular manslaughter. It is anticipated the charge against him are to be intensified when toxicology tests determine what type of drug he had ingested prior to the crash.
The California Highway Patrol’s investigation, which lasted for more than eight hours, reached the conclusion that Singh was 100 percent at fault in the triple-fatality crash.
In August, the U.S. government stopped issuing worker visas for commercial truck drivers, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing the change was effective immediately.
“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,” Rubio stated.
The State Department simultaneously said that the hold was being put in place “in order to conduct a comprehensive and thorough review of screening and vetting protocols used to determine the qualifications for a U.S. visa. As we have seen with recent deadly accidents, foreign truckers can pose risks to American lives, U.S. national security, and foreign policy interests. Ensuring that every driver on our roads meets the highest standards is important to protecting the livelihoods of American truckers and maintaining a secure, resilient supply chain.”
Rubio’s initiative came less than three months after the Trump administration, through the Transportation Department, took steps to enforce the requirement that truckers speak and read English proficiently. According to the Transportation Department, achieving minimal literacy on the part of truck drivers was a necessary element in a program to improve road safety following incidents in which drivers’ ability to read signs or speak English may have contributed to traffic deaths.
In August, three people were killed when the driver of a semi-truck, Harjinder Singh, attempted to perform an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike in St. Lucie County. Harjinder Singh, who is not believed to be of blood relation to Jashanpreet Singh, like Jashanpreet Singh entered the U.S. illegally and obtained a commercial driver’s license from California, according to the U.S. Marshals office. Subsequently, the State of Florida sued the states of California and Washington over their issuance of commercial drivers licenses to Harjinder Singh.
The lawsuit accuses California and Washington of refusing to comply with federal safety and immigration-status requirements relating to the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses. The suit says both Pacific Coast states “chose to ignore these standards and authorize illegal immigrants without proper training or the ability to read road signs to drive commercial motor vehicles.”
The manner in which Jashanpreet Singh was able to obtain his commercial driver’s license is highly troubling. His skill, ability and qualifications to drive a semi-truck was at best questionable, and it appears that he or the entity he was driving for manipulated the gaps and presumed overlapping of both state and federal processes and regulations in his obtaining of that license. A somewhat laxer federal standard than what currently exists was in place less than a month ago that deferred the vetting of drivers to the states. That standard was significantly tightened on September 26.
Singh, who came to the United States in 2022 illegally at the age of 18 and later applied for asylum status to allow him to remain in the United States despite having violated the law by coming across the Mexican border into California undocumented, was able to obtain four months ago – in June 2025 – a “restricted, non-domiciled commercial drivers license” with a “K” restriction from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, despite not having sufficient skill with the English language to familiarize himself with the California Driver’s Handbook and read and understand common road signs. The K restriction limited his licensure to driving in-state.
On September 26, the federal government, as part of a policy change initiated by the Donald Trump Administration, tightened truck driving licensing requirements for all non-U.S. citizens That policy change included suspending as of that date the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driving licenses. Singh’s commercial drivers license was supposed to be rescinded at that time. The State of California, however, failed to comply with order from the federal government, doing so in some measure because of both Governor Gavin Newsom’s and the Democrat-dominated California State Legislature’s declared intention to resist the Trump Administration’s immigration policy. Had the State of California and the California Department of Motor Vehicles complied with the federal order, Singh’s commercial drivers license would have been rescinded.
The State of California and the California Department of Motor Vehicles grew cagey upon being questioned about Singh’s status as a licensed commercial driver. When the Department of Motor Vehicles was queried about whom or what company Jashanpreet Singh was driving for when he was involved in Tuesday’s fatal mishap, what cargo Singh was hauling at the time of the accident, what substance he was under the influence of at the time of the accident and whether he was licensed to be a commercial driver, the Sentinel was referred to the California Highway Patrol. California Highway Patrol Spokesman Rodrigo Jimenez said he was not authorized to release owner/company information and that he did not have information about what Singh was hauling. Jimenez said that Singh “was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs. We cannot specify due to the ongoing investigation.” He was restricted in what he could say about Singh’s licensing status.
“The driver of the Freightliner tractor-trailer combination has been identified as Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old man of Yuba City,” Jimenez said. “That is the only information I can release about the driver at this time.”
Singh’s driving record prior to the Tuesday collision was somewhat spotty. In San Bernardino County alone, he had been issued no fewer than ten citations which were heard, variously, at the Barstow, Needles, Joshua Tree and Fontana courthouses, with him entering guilty pleas with regard to six out of seven VC22406(A)-I commercial truck speeding infractions and wangling dismissals on a citation of operating a vehicle out of a designated lane and riding left of a double yellow line.
At Singh’s arraignment this morning in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court before Judge Shannon L Faherty, he needed the services of interpreter Rahul Mahant, who is certified in Punjabi and English, to be able to communicate with the court. With Deputy District Jamie Cimino representing the People of California and Deputy Public Defender Zoe Korpi present, Singh was arraigned on and the court entered for him not guilty pleas and denials to one count of PC191.5(A)-F: gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated; a count of VC23558-E: causing bodily injury or death; another count of PC191.5(A)-F: gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated; another count of VC23558-E: causing bodily injury or death; another count of PC191.5(A)-F: gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated; another count of VC23558-E: causing bodily injury or death; a count of VC23153(F)-F: driving under the combined influence of alcohol/drugs causing injury; another count of VC23558-E: causing bodily injury or death; a count of PC12022.7(A)-E: great bodily injury on a person; and another count of PC12022.7(A)-E: great bodily injury on a person.
His preliminary hearing has been set for November 4 in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court.