On August 12, 2025, a tragic accident on Florida’s Turnpike left three people dead and sparked a nationwide debate over immigration, state licensing policies, and road safety standards. The incident, which involved a semi-truck making an illegal U-turn into the path of a minivan, has since become a flashpoint for political leaders, federal agencies, and the public, each offering their own interpretations and calls to action.
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the crash occurred just before 3 p.m. near mile marker 171 in Fort Pierce. Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old truck driver from Stockton, California, attempted a U-turn in an area clearly marked for “official use only.” As Singh’s tractor-trailer blocked the northbound lanes, a Chrysler Town & Country minivan traveling in the left lane was unable to stop in time, slamming into the trailer and wedging beneath it. Two passengers in the minivan—a 37-year-old woman from Pompano Beach and a 54-year-old man from Miami—died at the scene. The minivan’s driver, a 30-year-old man from Florida City, was airlifted to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Singh and a passenger in his truck, both in their twenties, were unharmed.
The Florida Highway Patrol’s crash report and dashcam footage, which quickly went viral, fueled a storm of reactions on social media and in political circles. Some users speculated about the driver’s Indian origin and background, with one viral post claiming, “Two Punjabi drivers make an illegal turn in Florida, which killed 3 people. This is what happens when you learn to drive on Indian roads and become a driver in the US.” Others pushed back, arguing that the tragedy was the result of an individual’s decision rather than cultural upbringing. “This is the fault of the driver not the road or growing up in India. He knew the risks. He went for it anyway just to save 2 minutes of time. Don’t make excuses for them. He would have done this after living in US for 20 years too,” another user wrote, according to reporting from India Today.
The controversy deepened when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Singh had entered the country illegally from Mexico in 2018. After being detained at the border, Singh was released on a $5,000 bond following his claim of fear of persecution if returned to India. He remained in immigration proceedings, and, according to The New York Post, was denied a work permit under the Trump administration but granted one in June 2021 during President Biden’s term. This detail became a point of contention between California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office and federal officials, with Newsom’s team asserting that Singh received his work permit under Trump, while Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin countered, “The government denied him a permit during Trump’s first term in September 2020 and granted him one in June 2021, under President Joe Biden.”
Despite his immigration status and limited English proficiency, Singh was able to obtain commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) in both California and Washington state. California is one of 19 states, plus the District of Columbia, that issue driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status—a policy supported by advocates as a means to improve road safety and provide immigrants with essential mobility. However, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Singh failed English language and road sign proficiency tests administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) after the crash, correctly answering only two out of twelve English questions and identifying just one of four highway signs. Federal law has long required CDL holders to speak English “sufficiently” to converse with the public and read road signs, a requirement that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy moved to strengthen with an order signed in May 2025.
“This crash was a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures,” Duffy said in a statement reported by The Post. He further criticized what he called “non-enforcement and radical immigration policies,” arguing they had turned the trucking industry “into a lawless frontier, resulting in unqualified foreign drivers improperly acquiring licenses to operate 40-ton vehicles.” Duffy pledged, “We will use every tool at our disposal to hold these states and bad actors accountable. President Trump and I will restore safety to our roads.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also weighed in, using a press conference at Voyager K-8 School in St. Cloud to lambast California’s licensing policies. “In Florida, what we’ve said is we’re not giving licenses if you’re here illegally, we’re not giving ID cards. In fact, you can’t even do like these NGOs want to issue, we don’t allow that. We don’t recognize California driver’s licenses. So we’re creating a situation where following the laws (are) the right thing to do and violating the laws (are) the wrong thing to do. Now, California, they do it differently. They invite people to come illegally, they provide benefits,” DeSantis said, as quoted by Fox 35 Orlando.
DeSantis called on Congress to take action, urging lawmakers to cut federal funding to “sanctuary states” and cities that, in his view, enable such tragedies. “Ultimately, Congress has the power of the purse, they do not need to fund you. If you’re a sanctuary state, they can remove funding from sanctuary cities. So stop subsidizing this,” he insisted.
The FMCSA has since launched a full investigation into both Singh and White Hawk Carriers Inc., the California-based company that employed him. Preliminary findings suggest that two states—Washington and California—may have violated FMCSA rules in issuing Singh’s CDLs, especially given his lack of English proficiency. The investigation will also scrutinize a July 2025 incident in which Singh was pulled over for speeding in New Mexico, just days after a new English-speaking requirement went into effect, with no evidence that a language test was administered.
Singh now faces three counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations. He was arrested in California by U.S. Marshals on August 17, 2025, and federal authorities have requested that he be transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after his criminal case concludes. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has stated that Singh will serve time in prison before being deported.
As the investigation continues, the crash has become a symbol of broader national debates about immigration, public safety, and the responsibilities of state and federal governments. According to the San News, there have been more than 1,600 fatal crashes involving large trucks in the U.S. so far in 2025, though there is no monitoring of how many involved immigrant drivers. The families of the three victims, and a nation watching closely, now await answers—and, they hope, justice.
