No bond, new charges for immigrant truck driver in fatal Florida Turnpike crash
The semi-truck driver accused of causing a crash that killed three people by making an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike last week was denied bond Saturday morning and will remain in jail for the duration of his trial, records show. He is also facing a new charge.
Harjinder Singh, 28, was already facing three counts of vehicular homicide in connection with the fatal St. Lucie County crash on Aug. 12. He was given three additional charges of manslaughter in his initial court appearance after being extradited from California.
Judge Lauren Sweet of the Nineteenth Circuit denied his bond, saying he was considered an “unauthorized alien” and a “substantial” flight risk. Her decision was relayed to Singh through an interpreter, video posted on the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page shows.
The Florida Highway Patrol announced earlier in the week that Singh entered the United States illegally through Mexico in 2018.
READ MORE: Trucking company in fatal Turnpike crash: unsafe trucks, unlicensed drivers, records show
Singh will remain in the custody of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. An immigration hold has been placed on Singh, according to the sheriff’s office.
Singh caused the deadly crash when he tried to make a U-turn at an “official use only” area of the Turnpike about 19 miles north of Fort Pierce, FHP said. Video recorded from inside the cabin of the big rig shows a minivan slam into the side of the truck as the driver attempted to make the turn across a two-lane stretch of the highway from the right lane. The minivan crumpled underneath the 18-wheeler’s trailer — killing three people.
They were identified as a 37-year-old Pompano Beach woman, a 54-year-old Miami man and a 30-year-old Florida City man.
Singh was allowed to leave the scene of the crash without being charged. He was eventually detained in California and then flown back to Florida.
READ MORE: Truck driver in deadly Turnpike crash makes first court appearance in California
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on social media that there would be a federal investigation of the trucking company Singh was driving for, White Hawk, and Singh. He added that Washington state also issued Singh a full-term commercial driver’s license, as well as California.
White Hawk has a history of truck safety violations and drivers caught driving on suspended licenses.
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