The 21-year-old truck driver who was arrested after his truck slammed into a line of slowed vehicles on a California freeway recently has been cleared of an original DUI charge.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office has ssaid toxicology reports confirmed none of the substances tested were present in the defendant’s blood at the time the test was rendered.
However, Jashanpreet Singh still faces three charges of is still facing three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. The Indian national said to be in this country in this country illegally faces one count of reckless driving on a highway causing a specified injury.
On Oct. 21 in Singh's tractor-trailer struck a line of vehicles on Interstate 10 in Ontario, California killing three people and injuring four others. The collision was captured on his dash cam.
The Department of Homeland Security said Singh was in the U.S. illegally. However, California, which issued his CDL, said the federal government approved his Employment Authorization Documents, allowing him to obtain a REAL ID, which confirmed his legal status prior to obtaining a CDL. That RELA ID extended his legal employment until August 2030, accordding to California officials.
Singh is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. He is currently being held without bail.
Singh's collision and similar ones involving drivers with questionable immigration status have helped fuled the debate over the Trump administration's efforts to deport people in the U.S. without proper documentation.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has complained about the CDL practices of California and other states while enforcing the new regulation requiring truckers to be proficient in English.
