A truck driver accused of killing three people in a crash after making an illegal U-turn has been returned to Florida, authorities said.
Driver escorted back to state
The U.S. Marshals Service said Harjinder Singh, 28, is not a U.S. citizen and entered the country illegally from Mexico in 2018. He later obtained a commercial driver’s license in California, according to the agency. Singh landed in Fort Pierce after Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins said he personally escorted him back from California.
“Nobody in their right mind could think they could make a U-turn like that without causing some kind of crash. People are driving 70, sometimes in excess of 70 miles an hour,” St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro said.
Leaders respond to licensing concerns
Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a press conference that Singh “wasn’t competent in English.”
“How are you gonna operate some big rig when you don’t understand the road signs,” the governor said.
The National Immigration Law Center notes that 19 states plus the District of Columbia issue driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday on X that he is pausing all worker visas for commercial truck drivers.
Industry impact debated
The American Trucking Association reports the industry faces a shortage of about 60,000 drivers nationwide.
Al Hanley, chief operating officer of The CDL School, said the State Department’s decision will not address the shortage but could make current U.S. drivers more valuable.
“The individual U.S. driver, there’s now more value to him to the industry. They’re gonna earn more,” Hanley said.
Hanley also noted the move will not affect Florida, where only U.S. citizens can obtain driver’s licenses. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it does not issue commercial licenses, which are handled by individual states.
“We want clear consistent regulatory frameworks that makes it easy for students to comply, for us to comply,” Hanley said.
Investigation continues
Officials have not released the names of the three people killed in the crash. The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating the driver, the crash, and the carrier he worked for.
