By HALLIE GOLDEN and JOSH FUNK, Associated Press
A foreign truck driver's deadly U-turn on a Florida highway has ignited a national debate on immigration and trucking safety following a crash that killed three people.
On Aug. 12, Harjinder Singh, 28, from India, was driving a semitruck north of West Palm Beach when he made a wide left U-turn across the highway median, blocking the northbound lane. A minivan could not avoid the truck, resulting in the deaths of its driver and two passengers. Singh and his passenger were unharmed.
Singh has been charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations. He was denied bond, and federal authorities plan to transfer him to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after his criminal case concludes.
Florida officials state Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018, but California officials recorded him as having a valid work permit when they issued him a driver's license. He obtained a full-term commercial driver's license in Washington State in July 2023, which individuals without legal status cannot receive.
Civil rights organizations express concern over the political rhetoric surrounding the case, fearing it may lead to discrimination against Sikh individuals like Singh, who fled religious persecution in India.
In response to the incident, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to withhold millions in federal funding from California, Washington, and New Mexico for failing to enforce English proficiency requirements for commercial drivers.
The situation has escalated into a public quarrel between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and California Governor Gavin Newsom, both acknowledging the case's potential impact on their political futures. The investigation is ongoing.