Illegal Immigrant with Commercial Driver's License Causes Devastating Multi-Vehicle Crash in California

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement took Partap Singh into custody following a serious traffic incident in California.

New York/Washington:

An Indian national who entered the United States illegally has been apprehended for causing a serious multi-vehicle collision while operating a commercial truck in California last year. The accident resulted in critical injuries to a five-year-old child, leaving her with permanent disabilities.

Partap Singh was arrested last month by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and will remain in their custody while awaiting immigration proceedings.

According to ICE officials, Singh was responsible for a multi-car pileup in June 2024 while driving a commercial 18-wheeler truck in California.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed in a Thursday statement that Singh had illegally crossed the southern border in October 2022 and was subsequently released into the country under the Joe Biden administration's policies.

The California Highway Patrol's Traffic Crash Report indicates Singh was operating his vehicle at unsafe speeds and failed to stop for traffic in a construction zone.

Despite his illegal status, Singh had been issued a commercial driver's license by California Governor Gavin Newsom's Department of Motor Vehicles.

Five-year-old Dalilah Coleman suffered devastating, life-altering injuries in the collision. Her stepfather, Michael Krause, was hospitalized, while the child required emergency airlift transportation after sustaining critical injuries. Several other individuals were also hospitalized with various injuries.

According to Coleman's father, the accident left his daughter unable to walk, talk, eat normally, or attend kindergarten as planned. She remained in a coma for three weeks and required six months of hospital treatment.

During her hospitalization, Coleman underwent a craniectomy and was without half of her skull for four months. She suffered a broken femur and skull fractures, and has since been diagnosed with diplegic cerebral palsy and global developmental delay. Medical experts indicate she will require lifelong therapy.

"Dalilah Coleman's life was forever changed when an illegal alien driving an 18-wheeler slammed into her and her family. This tragedy was entirely preventable," stated DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

Secretary Noem characterized this as "sadly" another instance of California's Department of Motor Vehicles issuing a commercial driver's license to an individual in the country illegally.

"How many more innocent people must become victims before Gavin Newsom stops playing games with American lives? DHS is working around the clock to remove dangerous aliens—like Singh—who have no right to be in the US," Noem added.

This marks the second recent case involving an Indian national living illegally in the US who was arrested for causing a fatal accident while operating a commercial vehicle.

In August, authorities arrested Harjinder Singh on three counts of vehicular homicide. He was operating an 18-wheeler on a Florida highway when he attempted an illegal U-turn.

By blocking all highway lanes with his truck, Harjinder Singh caused a fatal accident that instantly claimed three lives.

The DHS reported that Harjinder Singh had obtained a California commercial driver's license despite having no legal right to reside in the United States.

Following this fatal accident, the US announced an immediate pause on issuing worker visas for commercial truck drivers.

"The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers," Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated.

The Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched an investigation into the crash.

Reports indicate Harjinder Singh failed an English Language Proficiency assessment, correctly answering only two of twelve verbal questions and accurately identifying just one of four highway traffic signs.