The need for English-language proficiency continues to be reinforced following another fatal crash – this one involving a tour bus in Tennessee.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that a Tennessee crash involving a bus and tractor-trailer left one person dead and raised even more questions about licensing and enforcement.
Investigators say the driver responsible for the crash was a Chinese national who failed an English proficiency test after the crash. The driver, identified as 54-year-old Yisong Huang, unlawfully entered the United States from Mexico in 2023, according to a Homeland Security news release.
According to DHS, Huang admitted to U.S. Border Patrol agents in 2023 that he entered the country illegally and is a citizen of China.
Federal officials say he was later released into the country and issued work authorization and a Social Security card, which allowed him to obtain a Class B commercial driver’s license from the state of New York.
On Dec. 9, Huang was driving an empty tour bus westbound on Interstate 40 when he rear-ended a tractor-trailer, triggering a chain-reaction crash. One person died, and two others were injured as a result of the crash. Investigators reported that Huang was watching a video on his phone at the time of the collision.
“It’s not just that Joe Biden let millions of migrants flood into our country illegally. His administration doled out the documentation these unqualified foreigner (sic) drivers needed to obtain trucking licenses and operate 40-ton missiles on the highway,” DOT Secretary Sean Duffy said in an official statement. “The fact that this individual failed a basic English test also calls into question how he even got the license in the first place. Working with Secretary Noem, we will continue to fight to keep you and your family safe on America’s roadways.”
New York in the crosshairs
It’s been a rough week for the state of New York.
On Dec. 12, Duffy held a news conference and put the state on notice for its issuance of non-domiciled CDLs.
An audit revealed that more than half of New York’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued unlawfully, Duffy said. Specifically, the DOT said 107 of the 200 records it sampled in New York were issued in violation of federal law.
“As we’ve done this nationwide audit, we found the worst offender, which is the state of New York,” Duffy said. “Fifty-three percent of New York’s non-domiciled CDLs were issued unlawfully or illegally.”
A common problem, Duffy said, is that New York would grant a CDL to someone for eight years even though their U.S. work authorization was only good for months.
“I’m going to give New York 30 days, because that’s what the law requires, to come into compliance with the rules that have been longstanding at the Department of Transportation,” Duffy said. “If they come into compliance, we’re going to work with them. If New York refuses to come into compliance, because (Gov.) Kathy Hochul for some reason believes we should have unqualified truck drivers on American roadways, we are going to pull tens of millions of dollars as phase one from the state of New York.”
New York Department of Motor Vehicles fired back immediately after Duffy’s press conference.
“Secretary Duffy is lying about New York State once again in a desperate attempt to distract from the failing, chaotic administration he represents,” New York DMV spokesperson Walter McClure said in a statement. “Here is the truth: Commercial Driver’s Licenses are regulated by the federal government, and New York State DMV has, and will continue to, comply with federal rules. Every CDL we issue is subject to verification of an applicant’s lawful status through federally issued documents reviewed in accordance with federal regulations. This is just another stunt from Secretary Duffy, and it does nothing to keep our roads safer. We will review USDOT’s letter and respond accordingly.”
Not the first state
New York is the latest state that the DOT has called out for not issuing CDLs properly. Earlier this month, DOT sent a letter threatening to pull funding from Minnesota. Other states that have been instructed to clean up their acts include California, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Colorado, South Dakota, Texas and Washington.
Duffy said on Dec. 12 that California has cooperated with the DOT to pull 17,000 unlawful CDLs. LL
Senior Editor Mark Schremmer contributed to this report.
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