Who is Jashanpreet Singh? Driver suspected of DUI in Ontario freeway crash that killed three
A deadly chain-reaction crash on the westbound 10 Freeway in Ontario, on Tuesday, left three people dead and at least four injured.
Authorities have identified Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old of Yuba City, as the driver suspected of being under the influence when causing a deadly crash in California's Ontario, KTLA reported.
The chain-reaction crash took place on the westbound 10 Freeway on Tuesday, and left three people dead. At least four more people were injured, as per ABC7 Los Angeles. Horrific dashcam footage from the incident was also circulated widely online.
This incident comes after the crash in Florida, which also claimed three lives. Harjinder Singh, an Indian truck driver, was behind the wheel, leading to massive outcry online.
Who is Jashanpreet Singh?
Jashanpreet was on drugs, as per authorities, when he crashed his speeding truck into slow-moving vehicles, stuck in traffic. California Highway Patrol said that Singh did not hit the brakes prior to the accident, KTLA reported.
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He has been booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. He is reportedly awaiting charges for vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of drugs.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin claimed Singh was an ‘Indian illegal alien’. He wrote on X: “Per multiple ICE sources, Jashanpreet Singh, the semi-truck driver suspected of killing three people in a DUI crash on the 10 freeway in Ontario, CA yesterday, is an Indian illegal alien who was caught & released at the CA border by the Biden admin in March 2022. DHS photo of him attached via federal sources.”
Sharing a photo of the crash alongside the reported DHS photo of Singh, Melugin continued, “I’m told ICE is placing a detainer request on Singh with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, where he is in custody on suspicion of DUI causing great bodily injury and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. He has not been formally charged yet.”
He further wrote, “Police say Singh was speeding and under the influence, never hitting his breaks, when he crashed into slow moving traffic on the freeway, causing a devastating and deadly chain reaction crash that killed 3 people. The victims have not been identified yet.”
What happened in the crash?
The crash involved several tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles. The incident took place after 1 pm. A witness told KTLA 5 that a big rig with a red cab had barreled into the traffic there, apparently without applying brakes.
“He didn’t try to slow down. He just went full force into the back of another truck, crushing two other cars,” the eyewitness told the outlet, adding that the crash had created a huge fireball.
Jashanpreet Singh faces flak online
Singh's involvement in the crash drew massive backlash online. One person on X commented, “We are all waiting to hear an update on the Jashanpreet Singh incident and how he got a CDL.”
Another said, “Three innocent lives are gone because a 21-year-old thought he could outrun reality while high behind the wheel. Jashanpreet Singh didn’t just crash a truck, he destroyed families.”
“California’s drug culture and weak deterrence keep breeding these tragedies, and no one wants to talk about it,” they added. Yet another person remarked “Another incompetent Indian driver with a CDL from Gavin Newsom's California murders three more people while driving under the influence. The blood on Newsom's and CA Democrats' hands will never wash off. Driver's name turns out to be Jashanpreet Singh.”