Indian man who entered US illegally kills 3 after driving under influence of drugs | WATCH

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A 21-year-old Indian national, who had entered the United States illegally, has been charged in connection with a massive semi-truck crash that claimed three lives in Southern California.

NDTV reported that the accused, who has been identified as Jashanpreet Singh, faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated after his Freightliner tractor-trailer ploughed into slow-moving traffic on a San Bernardino County freeway, according to US media reports.

Singh, who reportedly crossed into the US through the southern border in 2022, first came into contact with Border Patrol agents in California’s El Centro Sector in March that year.

However, he was released into the country’s interior under the Biden administration’s “alternatives to detention” policy, which allows undocumented immigrants to await their court hearings outside of custody.

Dashcam footage captured the moment when Singh’s big rig crashed into an SUV, sparking a blaze that killed at least three people and left several others injured. Those injured included Singh himself and a mechanic who had been assisting a stranded motorist with a tyre change, reports said. Meanwhile, the identities of those killed in the crash have not been revealed.

🚨 Breaking: 21-year-old truck driver Jashanpreet Singh has been arrested for DUI and vehicular manslaughter after a chain-reaction crash on the I-10 in Ontario killed three people and injured four others.

Two victims were burned beyond recognition. Terrible. pic.twitter.com/f9EUgxG6hJ — Digital Gal 🌸 (@DigitalGal_X) October 22, 2025

Authorities said Singh never applied the brakes before the collision and was under the influence of drugs at the time. Toxicology tests later confirmed this.

"He was eventually transported to the hospital, and he was checked out by the medical staff, and our officers determined he was driving under the influence of drugs," said CHP Officer Rodrigo Jimenez, as quoted by ABC7 News.

The US Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that Singh lacks lawful immigration status. According to Fox News, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has since placed an immigration detainer on him following his arrest.

The tragedy has reignited debate around the role of undocumented immigrants in commercial trucking incidents. Just two months earlier, another Indian national, Harjinder Singh, who had also entered the US illegally in 2018, was accused of causing a separate crash in Fort Pierce, Florida, that killed three people. Harjinder reportedly went on to obtain a commercial driver’s licence in California after crossing the border.