Indian driver gets nearly five years in jail for fatal California crash
Jashanpreet Singh, an Indian national, had entered the United States illegally in 2022 by crossing the southern border.
A 21-year-old Indian national and commercial truck driver, Jashanpreet Singh, was sentenced, to four years and eight months in California state prison on July 14 after pleading guilty to three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Shannon L. Faherty imposed the sentence in a hearing attended by families of the victims. One family delivered a victim impact statement. Some injured victims were also present in court.
The case stems from a deadly chain-reaction crash on October 21, 2025, on the westbound Interstate 10 Freeway in Ontario, California, near the Milliken offramp. Singh was driving a red semi-truck when traffic ahead slowed or stopped. According to witnesses and investigators, his truck did not brake, swerve, or take evasive action. It barreled at high speed directly into the slowed vehicles, triggering an eight-vehicle pileup involving his semi-truck, three other semi-trucks, two pickup trucks, and two cars.
A witness described the impact as sounding like “a big explosion.” The semi-truck rolled, veered into an embankment, and caught fire. Singh jumped out of the burning vehicle. Dashcam footage and eyewitness accounts captured the semi plowing into the stopped or slowing traffic without apparent reaction.
Three people died in the crash. Four others were injured, some seriously. Among the fatalities were Pomona High School Red Devils assistant basketball coach Clarence Nelson and his wife, Lisa Nelson. The third victim’s name has not been widely released in public reports.
California Highway Patrol officers arrested Singh at the scene. He was initially charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of driving under the influence causing injury.
Toxicology tests later came back negative for drugs or alcohol, leading prosecutors to drop the DUI charge.
Singh, a resident of Yuba City, California, held a California commercial driver’s license. Reports noted that he lacked English proficiency at the time he obtained the license. U.S.
Department of Homeland Security officials stated that Singh, an Indian national, had entered the United States illegally in 2022 by crossing the southern border. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer against him.
Cellphone data reportedly showed activity by the driver before the crash, though specific details about distraction were not central to the final plea.
Singh initially pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea to guilty on the three felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office described the tragedy as “heinous” and “easily avoidable” had the defendant not been driving in a grossly negligent manner.
On July 14, Judge Faherty sentenced him to four years and eight months in state prison. The relatively short term for a case involving three deaths reflects the plea agreement and California sentencing guidelines for this type of offense when no alcohol or drugs were involved.
Singh will serve his sentence in the California state prison system and faces likely deportation proceedings upon release due to his immigration status.
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A 21-year-old Indian national and commercial truck driver, Jashanpreet Singh, was sentenced, to four years and eight months in California state prison on July 14 after pleading guilty to three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Shannon L. Faherty imposed the sentence in a hearing attended by families of the victims. One family delivered a victim impact statement. Some injured victims were also present in court.
The case stems from a deadly chain-reaction crash on October 21, 2025, on the westbound Interstate 10 Freeway in Ontario, California, near the Milliken offramp. Singh was driving a red semi-truck when traffic ahead slowed or stopped. According to witnesses and investigators, his truck did not brake, swerve, or take evasive action. It barreled at high speed directly into the slowed vehicles, triggering an eight-vehicle pileup involving his semi-truck, three other semi-trucks, two pickup trucks, and two cars.
A witness described the impact as sounding like “a big explosion.” The semi-truck rolled, veered into an embankment, and caught fire. Singh jumped out of the burning vehicle. Dashcam footage and eyewitness accounts captured the semi plowing into the stopped or slowing traffic without apparent reaction.
Three people died in the crash. Four others were injured, some seriously. Among the fatalities were Pomona High School Red Devils assistant basketball coach Clarence Nelson and his wife, Lisa Nelson. The third victim’s name has not been widely released in public reports.
California Highway Patrol officers arrested Singh at the scene. He was initially charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one count of driving under the influence causing injury.
Toxicology tests later came back negative for drugs or alcohol, leading prosecutors to drop the DUI charge.
Singh, a resident of Yuba City, California, held a California commercial driver’s license. Reports noted that he lacked English proficiency at the time he obtained the license. U.S.
Department of Homeland Security officials stated that Singh, an Indian national, had entered the United States illegally in 2022 by crossing the southern border. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer against him.
Cellphone data reportedly showed activity by the driver before the crash, though specific details about distraction were not central to the final plea.
Singh initially pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea to guilty on the three felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office described the tragedy as “heinous” and “easily avoidable” had the defendant not been driving in a grossly negligent manner.
On July 14, Judge Faherty sentenced him to four years and eight months in state prison. The relatively short term for a case involving three deaths reflects the plea agreement and California sentencing guidelines for this type of offense when no alcohol or drugs were involved.
Singh will serve his sentence in the California state prison system and faces likely deportation proceedings upon release due to his immigration status.
