An illegal immigrant trucker accused of causing a pile-up that left three people dead in California appeared in court wearing a turban — a request that went unfulfilled during each of his prior appearances.
Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old Indian migrant, is accused of causing a collision involving eight vehicles on the westbound 10 Freeway in San Bernardino County in October.
His Monday court hearing was delayed by a staggering three hours as officials waited for Singh’s Punjabi translator.
Singh appeared in standard orange jail scrubs – now complete with his Sikh turban on his head.
He had requested to wear the traditional religious garb, but his head remained bare during each of his prior hearings. He was permitted to keep it on when police took his mugshot photo after his arrest.
Singh’s hearing was speedy, despite the elongated wait. He never directly questioned or addressed the judge, and he was granted a continuance at his attorney’s behest.
He is set to appear in court again on Jan. 16.
Singh faces three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and reckless driving. He was originally slapped with a charge for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence, but it was dropped as no alcohol or drugs were detected in his blood immediately following the crash.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Singh had faced up to 17 years behind bars under the prior more serious charges. He now faces up to 10 years if convicted.
The harrowing crash footage showed the moment Singh’s big rig plowed into the back of an SUV, before both vehicles lurched forward and slammed several other vehicles that burst into flames – including another semi truck.
In the wake of the crash, the Department of Transportation blamed California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration for the crash, which killed an elderly couple and an Upland resident.
The DOT report alleged that Newsom’s team unlawfully upgraded Singh’s license in response to a federal law passed mere weeks before the crash, which barred illegal immigrants from holding commercial driving licenses.
When the law went into effect, the DOT claimed that Singh’s driving rights were suddenly promoted from a restricted Commercial Driver’s License to an expanded CDL. The day his new license was issued coincided with Singh’s 21st birthday.
“It would have never happened if Gavin Newsom had followed our new rules. California broke the law and now three people are dead and two are hospitalized. These people deserve justice. There will be consequences,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
“This accident follows a disturbing trend of illegal aliens driving 18-wheelers and semi-trucks on America’s roads,” Homeland Security’s assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin added.
Homeland Security officials believe that Singh illegally entered the US through the southern border in 2022.
Another illegal immigrant from India, Harjinder Singh, is also accused of killing three people after he allegedly made an illegal U-turn with an 18-wheeler through a restricted zone in Florida over the summer.
Harjinder Singh was operating under a California issued CDL at the time. He faces a laundry list of homicide and immigration violation charges.