A truck driver facing multiple felony charges following a hit-and-run crash that left two dead has pleaded not guilty.
On Thursday, May 21, 24-year-old Manvir Singh entered a not-guilty plea in the San Joaquin Superior Court. Singh is charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving and hit-and-run resulting in permanent injury or death.
The charges stem from a May 19 crash on Highway 99 that claimed the lives of two and left five others with various injuries. According to the California Highway Patrol, Singh failed to stop for vehicles ahead of him, slamming into the rear of one of them and causing a chain reaction involving three other vehicles.
Two males, ages 16 and 20, were killed immediately. Five others were taken to the hospital, two with serious injuries.
According to police, Singh attempted to flee the scene on foot before being tracked down by deputies and taken into custody.
Prosecutors said that there were no skid marks near the crash site, indicating Singh did not try to brake before the impact.
“My office has charged this defendant with the most serious applicable offenses to ensure he is held fully accountable for the lives stolen and the families devastated by this reckless act,” San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said. “We also asked for no bail so he will be brought to justice.”
Jacob Benguerel, the attorney representing Singh, said his client was not careless while behind the wheel.
“What was the gross negligence? He wasn’t drunk, he wasn’t doing drugs. There’s no evidence that he was doing anything other than driving a big rig down the road, and there was an accident,” Benguerel said. “I mean, this is the type of thing that happens every day.”
The Department of Homeland Security determined that Singh entered the country illegally from India in 2023. Following his arrest after the crash, ICE placed a detainer on Singh, asking California officials not to release him.
“This criminal illegal alien from India should never have been behind the wheel of a semi-truck and allowed to kill two innocent people in a multi-vehicle crash in California,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “This is yet another example of why illegal aliens should not be operating trucks on American highways.”
Singh’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 27. LL
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