Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy today blamed Tuesday’s tractor-trailer crash in California that killed three people on that state’s Gov. Gavin Newsom, and warned “there will be consequences.”
A statement from the Department of Transportation said what it called “a new bombshell report” shows Newsom and the state “allowed a dangerous foreign driver to operate a truck, resulting in the tragic and preventable death of three innocent souls and the hospitalization of two more.”
The collision that triggered Duffy’s response occurred on Interstate 10 near Ontario, California Tuesday when a tractor-trailer slammed into a line of traffic, killing three people and injuring at least four others. The truck’s dash cam captured the collision as it unfolded.
The driver, 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh from Yuba City, California, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter. KABC TV said a law enforcement source confirmed Singh was in the U.S. illegally having entered the country in 2022. After the accident, ICE lodged an immigration detainer for Singh.
The DOT statement said, “If California had complied with the Secretary’s emergency rule and prevented the upgrade of this individual’s driving privileges earlier this month, he would have never been able to get behind his big rig.”
The Indian media outlet NDTV said, Gov. Newsom’s office responded that the federal government approved Singh’s federal employment authorization multiple times, and this allowed him to obtain a commercial driver’s license in accordance with federal law.
In today’s statement Duffy said, “My prayers are with the families of the victims of this tragedy. It would have never happened if Gavin Newsom had followed our new rules. California broke the law and now three people are dead and two are hospitalized. These people deserve justice. There will be consequences.”
The DOT’s statement said the collision occurred after the agency notified California of “significant compliance failures.” The DOT said an audit revealed “one in four non-domiciled CDLs sampled were issued improperly.”
Duffy’s statement also included a timeline detailing events it claims led up to the accident. It says:
- June 27: California issued Jashanpreet Singh, a 20-year-old asylum seeker, a restricted, non-domiciled CDL. The license includes a “K restriction,” limiting the driver to intrastate (in-state) operation
- Sept. 26: Secretary Duffy formally notifies California of “significant compliance failures” after an audit revealed one in four non-domiciled CDLs sampled were issued improperly. California was required to:
- Pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs
- Identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations
- Revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the new federal requirements
- Sept. 26: FMCSA issues an emergency rule it said was meant to strengthen standards for the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs.
- Under the emergency rule, non-citizens are not eligible for a non-domiciled CDL unless they meet a much stricter set of rules, including possessing an employment-based visa and undergoing a mandatory federal immigration status check using the SAVE system
- Specifically, the new rule prevents all asylum seekers from obtaining non-domiciled CDLs
- States are now required to apply the stricter standards to all issuances, renewals, transfers, or upgrades of a non-domiciled CDL
- Oct. 15: Singh turns 21. California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) removes the “K restriction” and upgrades Singh’s driving privileges. This removal was an “upgrade” under federal regulations. However, California processed the upgrade to Singh’s non-domiciled CDL without applying the stricter standards as required by the emergency rule.
- Oct. 21: Singh was operating a semi-truck under the influence of drugs on a California freeway when he struck a queue of stopped vehicles and fatally injured three people.
- If California had complied with the Secretary’s emergency rule and prevented the upgrade of Singh’s driving privileges, Singh would have been required to return to the DMV (on or after October 15) to have the ‘K’ restriction removed and upgrade his CDL.
- At that time, Singh would have been subject to the emergency rule and found ineligible to retain the non-domiciled CDL due to Singh’s status as an asylum seeker.
The DOT said California has 30 days from Sept. 26, when FMSCA issued its letter of preliminary determination of substantial noncompliance, to audit its CDL issuance practices and procedures and immediately void or rescind all unexpired, noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs.
This is just the latest skirmish between Newsom and Duffy, who recently announced his agency was withholding $40 million from California. The two have also clashed over California’s high-speed rail project, and the lack of sufficient air traffic controller staffing at Burbank airport.
Additionally, Newsom has frequently sparred with Duffy’s boss, President Donald Trump, over numerous issues, especially the use of National Guard and Marine troops as law enforcement personnel in Los Angeles. Trump said he was sending troops to San Francisco, but relented citing requests from tech company executives.
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