Road Carnage Caused by Illegal Aliens

The Phyllis Schlafly Report
By John and Andy Schlafly

Not one, but two triple-fatality car accidents were recently caused by illegal aliens driving trucks with commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) issued by California. Florida has investigated and uncovered devastating details about the road carnage wrought in its state by a California resident who never should have received a CDL.

Driving in India is on the left side of its roads, the opposite of here in the U.S. Speeds are typically lower in India compared with the U.S., and the high-velocity, high-congestion movement on our interstates and turnpikes is unlike travel in India.

In our country illegally from India, Harjinder Singh had failed his CDL exam 10 times within two months in Washington State in 2023, but then that liberal state granted him this license anyway. That authorized him to drive large trucks on our highways nationwide.

He next obtained a similar license from California, where he was residing this year. Driving a truck in Florida, he attempted a shockingly reckless maneuver that no American trucker would ever do.

While driving northbound in the outside lane near Fort Pierce on the Florida Turnpike, Singh unexpectedly turned his 18-wheeler across all the inner northbound lanes to make a bizarre, illegal U-turn in a median area limited to authorized vehicles. High-speed traffic behind him had no way to anticipate that swerving maneuver, and a minivan carrying three could not stop.

All three in the minivan were killed by the collision, but Singh and his passenger were uninjured. He is being held without bond in the local St. Lucie County Jail.

Singh has an insufficient understanding of English to drive a big rig on our turnpikes, as he was doing. His reckless U-turn was prohibited by signage and tradition well-known to American drivers, but he cannot read road signs if he cannot understand English.

After the crash, the U.S. Department of Transportation discovered that Singh correctly answered only 2 out of 12 questions in English. He could read only 1 in 4 road signs.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has granted 62,000 CDLs to illegal aliens, which makes the tragic accidents inevitable until the Trump Administration cracks down against California for allowing this. Merely two months later, another illegal alien with the last name of “Singh” crashed his truck on a California highway, likewise killing three in his accident.

Jashanpreet Singh, apparently having no relation to Harjinder Singh, had illegally entered our country, and was caught but then released by the Biden Administration. Gov. Newsom turned him loose on our highways to drive big trucks here.

On October 21, Jashanpreet Singh caused the deaths of three people and injured several more by rear-ending them at high speed. He has been charged with three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of driving under the influence of a drug.

Prosecutors allege that this 21-year-old, which is the minimum age for receiving a CDL for interstate trucking, was driving at a high speed in his truck. He has pleaded not guilty while his supporters demand the return to him of his Sikh turban as he sits in jail.

This Singh’s understanding of English is so poor that he has requested an interpreter at court hearings to translate into his native tongue of Punjabi for him. Punjabi is a language spoken in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, and it is estimated that 316,000 Indian migrants into the U.S., about half of whom have settled in California, speak this language.

Sean Duffy, Trump’s DOT Secretary, has pulled $160 million in federal funding from California due to its failure to comply with federal standards in issuing CDLs to illegal aliens, many of whom cannot read our road signs. Earlier, Secretary Duffy pulled an additional $40 million in funding.

“It would have never happened if Gavin Newsom had followed our new rules,” Duffy explained. “California broke the law and now three people are dead and two are hospitalized. These people deserve justice. There will be consequences.”

New regulations issued by the Trump Administration on Sept. 26 required California and all states to verify a driver’s status in the U.S. before granting an application for CDL privileges. Despite this, California ignored the Trump Administration’s regulations by expanding Singh’s driving privileges for interstate trucking on Oct. 15, which was apparently his 21st birthday.

As Trump’s Department of Homeland Security responded on X, “This tragedy follows a disturbing pattern of criminal illegal aliens driving commercial vehicles on American roads, directly threatening public safety.”

A 20-year-old American is considered too inexperienced to receive an

interstate trucking license, and a young driver typically needs to be 25 to rent a car. Secretary Duffy should suspend California’s authority to license interstate truckers until it stops licensing 21-year-old illegal aliens unable to understand English.

John and Andy Schlafly are sons of Phyllis Schlafly (1924-2016) and lead the continuing Phyllis Schlafly Eagles organizations with writing and policy work.

These columns are also posted on PhyllisSchlafly.com, pseagles.com, and Townhall.com.