West Virginia, USA: An Indian-origin truck driver in the United States, Sukhjinder Singh, has been placed in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for potential deportation. This development comes only months after he admitted guilt in a fatal road accident that occurred earlier this year in West Virginia.
Singh received the maximum one-year jail term after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter in October. According to updated information, he is now being held at the North Central Regional Jail under ICE detention.
The fatal incident happened in January, when Kevin Lataille, a resident of Pennsylvania, disappeared while driving home from work in West Virginia. After a large-scale search, his vehicle and body were eventually discovered submerged in Cheat Lake, about a week after he was reported missing.
Initially, authorities arrested another man with the same name, but later identified the correct suspect. Singh told investigators that he lost control of his tractor-trailer due to dangerous snowstorm conditions. However, surveillance video showed a large truck skidding across a bridge, kicking up snow, followed by a passenger vehicle plunging into the lake.
Detectives determined that Singh was driving too fast for the snowy conditions. Witnesses also described his driving as “reckless” and “criminal.” Investigators further revealed that his truck had hit another vehicle shortly before reaching the bridge and failing to stop.
A detailed inspection of Lataille’s car showed rear-side damage on the driver’s side, matching the impact pattern of Singh’s truck. This collision ultimately forced the car off the bridge and into Cheat Lake, according to earlier reports from CBS News.
Singh’s case has surfaced during a period when several Punjabi truck drivers in the US are under scrutiny for allegedly obtaining commercial driver’s licenses without meeting the mandatory testing requirements.
