New York City, NY, USA: An Indian citizen who entered the United States without legal authorization has been taken into custody for causing a multi-vehicle accident in California last year, which left a five-year-old girl with severe, permanent injuries.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended Partap Singh last month. He will remain in ICE custody while immigration proceedings move forward.
Authorities reported that in June 2024, Singh, driving a commercial 18-wheeler truck, was involved in a multi-car collision in California.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that Singh had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in October 2022 and was subsequently released into the country under policies enacted by the Biden administration.
According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) Traffic Crash Report, Singh was driving at unsafe speeds and failed to obey traffic and construction zone regulations.
Singh had been issued a commercial driver’s license by California’s Department of Motor Vehicles, under Governor Gavin Newsom.
The crash inflicted critical injuries on five-year-old Dalilah Coleman. Her stepfather, Michael Krause, was also hospitalized, and Dalilah had to be airlifted to a hospital. Several other people involved in the crash received medical attention as well.
Dalilah’s father revealed that as a result of the accident, she can no longer walk, talk, or eat normally, and she is unable to attend kindergarten. She spent three weeks in a coma and underwent six months of hospital care.
While hospitalized, Dalilah had a craniectomy, living 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 delays, requiring ongoing therapy for life.
“Dalilah Coleman’s life was permanently altered when an illegal immigrant driving an 18-wheeler crashed into her family. This tragedy could have been prevented,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said.
Secretary Noem criticized California’s DMV for issuing a commercial driver’s license to someone who was in the country illegally, calling it another example of negligence under Governor Newsom’s administration.
She added, “How many more innocent Americans must be harmed before Gavin Newsom takes responsibility? DHS is working tirelessly to remove dangerous individuals like Singh who should not be in the United States.”
This incident marks the second case involving an Indian national living illegally in the U.S. who was arrested for causing a deadly accident with a commercial vehicle.
In August, Harjinder Singh faced three counts of vehicular homicide in Florida after attempting an illegal U-turn in an 18-wheeler, blocking multiple lanes and causing a crash that killed three people instantly.
The DHS noted that Harjinder Singh had obtained a California commercial driver’s license despite having no legal right to remain in the U.S.
Following that fatal accident, U.S. authorities temporarily suspended the issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, “The growing number of foreign drivers operating large trucks on American roads poses serious risks to public safety and threatens the livelihood of U.S. truckers.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), under the Department of Transportation, launched an investigation into the Florida crash.
Harjinder Singh reportedly failed the English Language Proficiency assessment, correctly answering only two of twelve verbal questions and identifying just one of four highway traffic signs.
