Truck driver accused of being in the US illegally pleads not guilty in Florida crash that killed 3
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12:47 PM on Monday, September 29
By FREIDA FRISARO
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A commercial truck driver accused of making an illegal U-turn that killed three people on a Florida highway last month waived his first appearance hearing Monday and entered a not guilty plea, court records show.
Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old native of India, is being held in the St. Lucie County Jail in Florida after being denied bond on three counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations. Singh lived in California and was originally issued a commercial driver’s license in Washington before California issued him one.
Fallout from the crash led to a war of words between the Trump administration and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and new, stricter rules for non-citizens to obtain commercial drivers licenses. That policy was announced Friday by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Singh attempted to make a U-turn Aug. 12 from the northbound lanes of Florida's Turnpike near Fort Pierce. A minivan that was behind Singh's big rig couldn't stop and crashed into the truck, killing its driver and two passengers. Singh and a passenger in the truck were not injured.
In a news conference last week, Duffy said an audit conducted after the Florida crash showed the previous rules weren’t strict enough and that a number of states weren’t following them consistently.
He said Singh should have never received a commercial license because of his immigration status.
That review found that commercial driver’s licenses were improperly issued in California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington. But Duffy said the problems were so egregious in California, where Singh's license was issued, that he is threatening to pull $160 million in federal funding.
Neither Singh's attorney, Natalie Knight-Tai, nor prosecutor David Dodd responded to emails seeking comment on the case. Next up for Singh is a pre-trial docket call on Friday in Fort Pierce.
