US authorities have confirmed that an Indian-origin truck driver, Jashanpreet Singh, was not intoxicated during the California crash that killed three people last month. However, officials said the case still stands as grossly negligent homicide.
Singh, 21, from Yuba City, was arrested on October 21 for suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter. Toxicology tests later showed no traces of drugs or alcohol in his system. The updated charges now include vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and reckless driving on a highway causing injury.
Investigators said Singh’s semi-truck crashed into stopped traffic at high speed in Ontario, California. Dashcam footage and eyewitness accounts supported this claim. Authorities added that his reckless driving caused the deaths of three people and left several others injured.
District Attorney Jason Anderson called the crash a “heinous and avoidable tragedy.” He added that Singh, an illegal immigrant who crossed into the US in 2022, should never have been in California.
This marks the second fatal crash involving an Indian-origin truck driver in recent months. In August, Harjinder Singh was charged with vehicular homicide in a similar Florida incident.
