As the U.S. Department of Transportation attempts to tighten restrictions regarding the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, two fatal truck crashes have garnered national attention in recent days.
Multiple media outlets reported that California Highway Patrol officers arrested truck driver Jashanpreet Singh, 21, following an eight-vehicle crash that included four commercial vehicles. According to the California Highway Patrol, three people died and four others were injured in the Tuesday, Oct. 21 crash on Interstate 10 in Ontario, Calif.
In addition to the crash, the California Highway Patrol said that fuel from Singh’s Freightliner spilled onto the dirt shoulder, resulting in a hazardous materials incident. Multiple westbound lanes of I-10 were closed for several hours.
On Thursday, Oct. 23, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that Singh had been arrested. The California Highway Patrol confirmed with Land Line that Singh had been arrested and booked at the West Valley Detention Center for driving under the influence of drugs and vehicular manslaughter.
Additionally, DHS said that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an immigration detainer for Singh. According to DHS, Singh is from India and entered the U.S. illegally in 2022.
Dashcam video captured the crash.
“It is a terrible tragedy three innocent people lost their lives due to the reckless open border policies that allowed an illegal alien to be released into the U.S. and drive an 18-wheeler on America’s highways,” Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary, said in a news release. “This accident follows a disturbing trend of illegal aliens driving 18-wheelers and semi-trucks on America’s roads.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who announced an interim final rule regarding non-domiciled CDLs in late September, posted about the crash on the social media platform X.
“This is outrageous,” Duffy wrote. “This is exactly why I set new restrictions that prohibit illegal immigrants from operating trucks.”
Duffy also urged California Gov. Gavin Newsom to begin enforcing CDL and English-proficiency rules. Earlier this month, Duffy announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was withholding about $40.7 million from California for not complying with the agency’s English-proficiency regulations.
🚨This is OUTRAGEOUS.
This is exactly why I set new restrictions that prohibit ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS from operating trucks. @CAgovernor must join every other state in the U.S. in enforcing these new actions to prevent any more accidents and deaths. https://t.co/phJYKLun8Y
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) October 23, 2025
California has argued that it has complied with all applicable federal laws and regulations. Additionally, Newsom said that California CDL holders possess a fatal crash rate nearly 40% lower than the national average.
Fatal crash in Indiana
The DHS also recently announced the arrest of Borko Stankovic, who was involved in a fatal truck crash on Oct. 15 in Portage, Ind.
According to reports, Stankovic’s truck made an evasive maneuver to avoid rear-ending another vehicle but then crossed the center line and collided head-on with a passenger vehicle driven by 54-year-old Jeffery Eberly.
Eberly was pronounced dead at the scene. Stankovic, 41, was arrested for reckless homicide and criminal recklessness. According to DHS, Stankovic, who is from Serbia, did not have a valid CDL and has been in the United States illegally since 2011. The DHS added that Stankovic was previously arrested in New York for obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest.
“This senseless tragedy should never have happened …” McLaughlin said. “Stankovic has been in this country illegally since 2011 and has a history of violating the law, yet he remained free to continue engaging in dangerous behavior that ultimately resulted in the death of Eberly.” LL
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