Sikhs rally at St. Lucie jail to honor three who died in Turnpike truck crash
Waving flags and traveling from across the country, members of the Sikh community rallied at the St. Lucie County Jail Thursday to honor the three people killed in a crash on the Florida Turnpike and to make sure the truck driver accused of causing the crash, an undocumented Indian citizen in a highly politicized case, receives a fair trial.
Standing barefoot or in socks in the jail parking lot, about two dozen joined in a traditional Sikh prayer, called an Ardas.
They prayed for the victims’ families of the Aug. 12 crash, and asked for a fair judicial process for the truck driver, Harjinder Singh, 28, who authorities say caused the deaths by making an illegal U-turn with his 18-wheeler, blocking the northbound lanes of the highway.
The three people killed were in a Town & Country minivan that slammed into the semi, crumpling in the crash, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Two passengers died on the scene; the driver died later that day in the hospital. The three were Haitian immigrants who were headed to Indiana, two friends of one of the deceased told the Herald.
“We always go where our assistance is needed,” said Dr. Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, co-founder of Sikhs for Justice and a Pennsylvania-based physician.
Singh, a Sikh, is an Indian citizen who authorities say came into this country illegally through Mexico in 2018 and has been living in California. He has a California commercial driver’s license.
Sikhs for Justice, founded in 2007, announced last week it would provide $100,000 to the families of the victims. The crash claimed the lives of driver Herby Dufresne, 30, and passengers Faniola Joseph, 37, and Rodrigue Dor, 54. The three had lived in South Florida and were visiting here before returning to their home in Indiana.
READ MORE: Truck driver in fatal Florida Turnpike crash expresses grief in first statement
The Sikhs said they came to St. Lucie to “show solidarity with those three victims of this tragic accident,” said Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a human rights attorney and general counsel for Sikhs for Justice. He is not legally representing Singh, who is being represented by the St. Lucie County Public Defender’s Office.
The group has made no progress in reaching any loved ones of the victims – whose bodies are still unclaimed at the St. Lucie County Medical Examiner’s Office. The group said it wrote to Gov. Ron DeSantis, asking for help in distributing the money to the victims’ families — though they said they have yet to receive a response.
READ MORE: 3 bodies in Florida semi-truck crash haven’t been recovered by families: officials
Thursday marked the second time Singh Pannun visited Singh in the St. Lucie jail and said that the truck driver is “filled with remorse and continues to endure mental anguish over this tragedy.”
Singh Pannun said that immediately after the crash, Singh went to the van and held a victim’s hand through a broken window.
“When I held the hand of the mini-van driver, I wished I could have held onto his life and never had to see anyone lose their life in this tragic accident,” Singh Pannun said Singh told him.
A now viral video shows the moment Singh made the deadly maneuver and the minivan slamming into his truck. He has faced criticism for his calm composure in the video, though Singh Punnan said he should not be judged for it.
“We should really look behind his face and behind those eyes [to see] how much sorrow he’s feeling,” Singh Punnan said.
A political circus
Singh, according to Singh Pannun, fled India to escape persecution as an outspoken supporter of Khalistan, a separatist movement to create a homeland for Sikhs in the Punjab region of South Asia, part of India and Pakistan.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York in 2024 charged a former Indian intelligence officer with directing a foiled plot to assassinate Singh Pannun. Multiple armed security could be seen escorting Singh Pannun at the rally.
Singh Pannun said Singh was remorseful about the accident.
“I came to America to live a life free of fear from persecution, and to work hard with dignity, not to cause harm, but to contribute to American society,” Singh Pannun said Singh told him.
Now, the truck driver is at the center of a highly politicized case. Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Highway Patrol have labeled him an “illegal immigrant.”
Singh was first issued a commercial driver’s license in Washington in 2023, the Department of Transportation stated. In 2024, California issued him a commercial driver’s license, saying he had a valid federal work permit. California is one of 19 states that issues licenses regardless of immigration status—a policy Republican leaders have sharply criticized.
READ MORE: Troopers didn’t check immigration status of truck driver in fatal U-turn crash
Last week, DeSantis sent his newly appointed lieutenant governor, Jay Collins, to help extradite Singh from California as Fox News cameras rolled. FHP troopers did not immediately detain Singh after the crash, allowing him to return to California, where he was arrested on Saturday.
Collins, who is not a law enforcement officer, declared on the tarmac of Stockton Metropolitan Airport in California: “We’re going to make sure that this thug is brought to justice and faces it in Florida... How many more lives have to be lost because of Gavin Newsom’s failed policies?”
READ MORE: Florida Lt. Gov. blasts California while extraditing truck driver in fatal crash
A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom fired back: “Florida let a murder suspect walk, California police had to step in and arrest him, and now Florida’s new LG is staging a photo op to pick him up?” referencing that Florida troopers did not immediately arrest Singh after the crash or verify his immigration status.
READ MORE: Troopers didn’t check immigration status of truck driver in fatal U-turn crash
Amid the controversy, the State Department recently announced a pause on issuing work visas for foreign commercial truck drivers. “The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X last Thursday.
Singh Pannun, however, urged against using the accident to stigmatize the broader Sikh trucking community.
“The accident must not be twisted into defining judgment against an entire community of Sikh drivers,” he said. “Over 100,000 Sikh drivers are part of the backbone of the U.S. supply chain, directly delivering food, medicine and essential goods across the nation.”
Singh’s attorney Jace Lunn, said his client’s case is “very politically charged” and “both sides are using the loss of life, and tragedy of three people — and the life of another that’s hanging in the balance — for political gain.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM.