ONTARIO, CA. (Pain In The Pass) >> The semi driver charged in a deadly chain-reaction crash on Interstate 10 in Ontario made his first court appearance Friday morning.
Jashanpreet Singh pleaded not guilty to the multiple criminal counts against him, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and causing bodily injury or death, and driving under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs.
This comes after the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against the 21-year-old driver. A public defender was appointed to represent him.
Singh remained in custody and was being held without bail.
Three people, including a Pomona High School basketball coach and his wife, were killed in the Tuesday October 21th crash.
The DA’s office says the dashcam video show Singh traveling at a high rate of speed into stopped traffic along the westbound 10 Freeway in Ontario, causing a chain reaction crash.
The Department of Homeland Security also issued an immigration arrest detainer on Singh, who they say entered the U.S. illegally from India in 2022.
According to Department of Motor Vehicles records, Singh did have a valid commercial driver’s license to operate a semitruck.
“Our understanding is he had a valid commercial driver’s license, and we are going to find out,” acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. “We’re going to do an investigation to understand if he committed fraud to get it or if someone at the DMV helped him get it.”
According to the California State Transportation Agency, it says Singh was issued a federal work authorization until 2030, and Singh’s commercial driver’s license is a federal REAL ID, which he was “entitled to receive given the federal government’s confirmation of his legal status.”
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