A deadly crash involving a semitruck and an SUV took place on the 10 Freeway in Ontario Tuesday afternoon. Amid the ongoing investigation, a Punjabi driver, now identified as 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh, was arrested on suspicions of driving under the influence of drugs and vehicular manslaughter.

Shocking dashcam footage, initially released by ABC7, offers visuals of the heart-rending violent crash involving multiple vehicles. From the looks of it, the semitruck driver failed to apply brakes on the freeway, as he then went on to slam into the SUV in front of it, and subsequently other vehicles as well. The harrowing accident killed three people, as per several US reports, including NBC Los Angeles, and injured at least four others.

It has also since been reported that the deadly crash involved eight vehicles, including four semi-truck, and took place at around 1:10 pm Tuesday (US time). The latest streak involving a Sikh truck driver in the US comes amid ongoing proceedings pertaining to Indian-origin truck driver Harjinder Singh’s illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike, which also killed three people.

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Harjinder’s case instantly sparked a hot debate surrounding claims of corruption clouding California’s issuance of commercial driver licenses (CDLs), especially since Singh was found to have entered the country unlawfully. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added to the conversation in an incendiary tweet: “This is exactly why @USDOT has withheld $40 MILLION from California for failure to comply with our rules to protect drivers. We cannot allow our roads to be a dangerous place!”

Who is Jashanpreet Singh?

As of now, officials have disclosed that Jashanpreet Singh is from Yuba City in Northern California, which has again ignited a row over truck driver license issuance. California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer Rodrigo Jimenez further shared that the 21-year-old truck driver was eventually transported to the hospital, where the medical staff and officers determined he was driving under the influence of drugs.

It has yet to be revealed if Jashanpreet is yet another truck driver whose origins trace back to India. While netizens are already speculating if the man arrested came into the US illegally, like Harjinder Singh did, authorities have yet to share further details on the matter.

Who were the victims of the Ontario crash in the US?

According to Eyewitness News’ findings, one of the victims was identified as a 54-year-old man from Upland, but his name hasn’t been released so far. The other two deceased people are said to have severely burned due to the accident. More details are awaited.

The four injured people included Jashanpreet himself and a mechanic who was changing a tire on the side of the freeway when the accident happened.

As a consequence of the fatal crash, the westbound lanes of the freeway in Ontario were closed for quite a few hours on Tuesday. They have since been reopened.

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Ontario freeway crash involving Sikh truck driver – What actually happened?

Singh, the Freightliner tractor-trailer combination’s driver, never stopped, according to an eyewitness on the scene. NBC Los Angeles quoted the man saying, “It didn’t stop. It didn’t swerve. It didn’t make any kind of maneuvers. It just went straight in.”

The witness added, “The truck rolled and veered to the right into the embankment, and I saw the truck drive jump out because it was on fire.”

Moreover, the westbound lanes on the freeway had slowed down moments before the crash, the California Highway patrol said. However, Singh’s in-action ultimately resulted in what many are now calling a chain-reaction crash.

Detailing the after-scenes of the multi-vehicle crash, Officer Jimenez said that car parts could be seen “everywhere.” Calling it a “hazardous material incident,” the CHP official said it caused a “very large scene.”

This is an ongoing investigation.