The semi-truck driver, who is accused of causing a deadly, eight-car pile-up in Ontario this week, appeared in court Friday, pleading not guilty to all charges, including vehicular manslaughter and DUI.
Jashanpreet Singh remained in custody at no bail ahead of a preliminary hearing on Nov. 4 in San Bernardino County.
Singh, an Indian national, was allegedly driving a red semi-truck under the influence when he crashed into seven other cars — three semi-trucks, two pick-up trucks and two cars — at around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday.
Three people died, and three others were injured in the crash. One of the deceased was identified as Jaime Flores Garcia. The three injured people are Maria Macias, Juan Chavez Alvarez, Tamara Lynn Gay, according to the complaint.
Singh, 21, first entered the U.S. through the southern border in 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
Despite some misinformation circulating online, Singh had no prior traffic violations or criminal convictions, the San Bernardino District Attorney’s Office said.
Aside from the criminal proceedings, the immigration status of Singh also sparked a debate over who’s responsible for allowing him to stay in the country without authorization for three years.
The Department of Homeland Security blamed the Biden administration, saying the prior administration issued Singh work authorization in April 2023. Federal officials also blamed the state of California for giving him a commercial driver’s license.
“This criminal illegal alien from India entered the country illegally at the southern border in 2022 and was RELEASED by the Biden Administration,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.“There is no national CDL. The state of California issued this illegal alien Commercial Drivers License, which is beyond dumb — dangerous and deadly.”
But Governor Newsom’s office accused the Trump administration of twisting facts and exploiting the “tragic situation.”
“The FEDERAL government needs to look within before they cast blame outside,” Newsom’s office told NBCLA in a statement. “The FEDERAL government approved and renewed this individual’s FEDERAL employment authorization multiple times – which allowed him to obtain a commercial driver’s license in accordance with FEDERAL law.”
A man who witnessed the Ontario collision, said the crash sounded like a big explosion as he recalled a red semi-truck, allegedly driven by Singh, barreling down the freeway before the impact.
“It didn’t stop. It didn’t swerve. It didn’t make any kind of maneuvers. It just went straight in,” Jason Calmelat described what he saw.
The California Highway Patrol said traffic on the westbound lanes had slowed down right before the crash, but Singh’s truck did not stop and caused the massive chain reaction crash.
“The truck rolled and veered to the right into the embankment, and I saw the truck drive jump out because it was on fire,” Calmelat said.
The four injured people including Singh, and a mechanic who was helping change a tire on the side of the freeway at the time of the crash, the California Highway Patrol said.
“It was one of those crashes where there were car parts everywhere. We had a hazardous material incident. It was a very large scene,” Officer Rodrigo Jimenez with the CHP said. “This could have been prevented if somebody had been paying attention sober.
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