Yuba City big rig driver held in deadly Southern California collision that killed 3
A Yuba City truck driver arrested following a Southern California freeway crash that killed three people and injured at least four others had entered the country illegally in 2022, federal officials said.
San Bernardino County District Attorney’s prosecutors on Thursday formally filed charges against Jashanpreet Singh, 21, of Yuba City, jailed without bail in San Bernardino County since his arrest in the Tuesday collision on Interstate 10 in Ontario.
Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials separately filed an immigration detainer Wednesday. The detainer requests local agencies hold a person classified as a “removable alien” for up to 48 hours beyond the time they would be ordinarily released to give Department of Homeland Security time to take the person into federal custody.
Homeland Security officials said Singh entered the country illegally from Mexico in 2022. In a news release, they claimed that Singh was “released into the country under the Biden administration.”
“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,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “This accident follows a disturbing trend of illegal aliens driving 18 wheelers and semi-trucks on America’s roads.”
Officials cited several recent fatal collisions, including one in Florida involving a Stockton tractor-trailer driver Harjinder Singh, 28.
Harjinder Singh was extradited to Florida to face vehicular homicide charges in the August deaths of a 37-year-old woman and two men, ages 54 and 30, whose minivan was crushed beneath Singh’s big rig after he made an illegal U-turn on a Florida turnpike. He faces 45 years to life in a Florida prison if convicted.
California Highway Patrol officers in the patrol’s Rancho Cucamonga office said Jashanpreet Singh was behind the wheel of a Freightliner tractor-trailer about 1:10 p.m. Tuesday when he plowed into cars that had slowed on westbound I-10 triggering a chain reaction crash involving eight vehicles.
Three died at the scene, the CHP said. At least four others were taken to hospitals with minor to major injuries.
Singh now faces three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, with enhancements for multiple victims. San Bernardino prosecutors filed a fourth count of driving under the influence with enhancements for great bodily injury and multiple victims in the fatal crash.
Singh’s arraignment date at San Bernardino Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga had not yet been set, San Bernardino County District Attorney’s officials said Thursday.
San Bernardino County D.A. Jason Anderson appeared to refer to the Yuba City’s man immigration status in his Thursday statement.
“This is a heinous tragedy that took three lives and severely injured others. Frankly, it was easily avoidable if the defendant was not driving in a grossly negligent manner and impaired,” Anderson said. “Had the rule of law been followed by State and Federal officials the defendant should have never been in California at all.”
The crash closed most of the westbound lanes of busy Interstate 10 in Ontario for several hours as CHP and crews investigated the wreck and cleared away wreckage.
The Highway Patrol’s investigation continues. The CHP’s Rancho Cucamonga office is seeking the public’s help, asking anyone with additional information to call 909-980-3994.
This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 12:48 PM.
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