Washington State Patrol (WSP) arrested a semi truck driver for vehicular homicide on Thursday morning (US time). Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) reported a crash involving three vehicles near the SR-18 interchange in Auburn at around 7:48 am local time. The fatal crash is said to have killed a 29-year-old man.
US reports have since identified the accused driver of the truck as 25-year-old Kamalpreet Singh. According a Fox News exclusive, Singh is an illegal immigrant from India.
The case comes to light after two other Indian-origin truck drivers – Harjinder Singh and Jashanpreet Singh – were charged in similar fatal crashes in the US. US authorities, including the Department of Homeland Security, declared even both of them as “illegal aliens” in the country. Despite them sharing the same last name as Kamalpreet Singh, the three are not believed to have any relation.
Who is Kamalpreet Singh?
Soon after the reports of the Washington State accident made headlines, Fox News’ Bill Melugin broke cover on social media, citing a senior US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) source. “I’m told by a senior ICE source that the semi truck driver arrested in a deadly crash in Washington state yesterday is an Indian illegal alien who was caught and released at the Border by the Biden admin,” he wrote on X Friday.
He further reported that the 25-year-old accused Indian truck driver had originally been arrested by US Border Patrol in Lukeville, Arizona, after he came into the US illegally on December 24, 2023. The ICE official added in their statement to the Fox News reporter that Singh was still released into the country by the Biden administration instead of being detained over his unlawful status.
ICE authorities have now placed a detainer on Singh with local law enforcement in King County, Washington, as per Fox.
White House Press Sec breaks silence
Re-sharing Melugin’s post on X, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted a video of herself addressing the issue of “unqualified illegal alien drivers” at a press briefing.
Calling these drivers a “public safety threat,” she wrote further, “President Trump and @SecDuffy will aggressively enforce our laws to protect the safety of American truckers, drivers, and passengers by ensuring anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is here legally, properly qualified, AND proficient in our national language —English!”
See the post: x.com/PressSec/status/1999570850941448408
Washington State crash – What happened
The official X account of WSDOT Traffic issued a public update on Thursday, December 11, stating that a collision had blocked two right lanes in SR 167 northbound at SR 18 (MP 15). Incident Response, State Patrol and fire crews were responding to the development on the scene.
Multiple other such updates followed, reiterating that traffic closure was likely to extend.
The latest statement, issued Thursday, indicated tat the right lanes of SR 167 were still blocked due to the ongoing investigation. “Continue to expect delays in this area,” WSDOT Traffic added.
The multi-vehicle crash involving accused Kamalpreet Singh is said to have killed Robert B. Pearson, 29. Singh’s truck reportedly crashed into the back of Pearson’s car, a blue 2010 Mazda 3 sedan, which had stopped behind another truck, a white 2016 Peterbilt truck, as per the Auburn Examiner.
According to the report, when Singh’s Freightliner is believed to have crashed into the back of Pearson’s car, his sedan was pushed into the truck ahead. The car’s engine compartment ultimately caught fire, but it was soon extinguished.
Neither Singh nor the Peterbilt driver was injured. The Washington State Patrol has also ruled out the involvement of drugs and alcohol in the case.
Non-US-citizen driver licenses under scanner
Ever since Harjinder Singh and Jashanpreet Singh’s cases came to the forefront earlier this year, US authorities have kept a keen eye on commercial driver licenses granted to non-citizens.
Accused Harjinder Singh, who made an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike in August, is said to have entered the US illegally via the Mexico border in 2018. Offering further insight into the case, the Homeland Security revealed online that Harjinder, an “illegal alien from Indian who killed three innocent people,” had failed an English Language Proficiency assessment.
Furthermore, he gave correct responses to only 2 of 12 verbal questions and just accurately identified 1 of 4 highway traffic signs, as per the DHS. And yet, he was given a Commercial Drivers License to drive and 18-wheel vehicle in California.
Adding to the investigation linked to CDL issuance, the US Transportation Department threatened to pull $73 million in funding from New York state. The department pushed NY state to take necessary action to address worries related to immigrant truck drivers who were improperly issued CDLs. A 30-day deadline has been set for the state.
“If we’re going to have drivers on American roadways, they need to be the best trained, the best skilled, because if operated incorrectly or inappropriately these are lethal weapons on American roadways,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Friday.
This comes after State Secretary Marco Rubio said the US was immediately halting work visas for commercial truck drivers.
