Overview
- Jashanpreet Singh entered not-guilty pleas to three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of DUI causing injury, was ordered held without bail, and is due back in court Nov. 4.
- Investigators allege drug impairment and no braking before impact; prosecutors point to dashcam footage and eyewitness accounts of the semitruck striking stopped traffic on I-10, killing three and injuring others.
- Homeland Security says Singh crossed the southern border in 2022 and remains in the country illegally; ICE has lodged an immigration detainer following his arrest.
- The DOT says California issued a restricted non-domiciled CDL in June and removed a restriction on Oct. 15 despite emergency rules that would have disqualified him, while state officials say federal employment authorization enabled the license.
- The deceased were identified as Clarence Nelson and his wife, Lisa, and Jaime Flores Garcia; Singh’s family in Punjab publicly rejects intoxication allegations.