The morning of December 11th began like any other on Washington State’s SR 167, but ended in tragedy. A 29-year-old man, Robert B. Pearson, lost his life when his vehicle was catastrophically crushed between two semi-trucks. The driver of one of those trucks, 25-year-old Kamalpreet Singh, now faces a vehicular homicide charge.
The sequence of events unfolded quickly. Traffic had slowed, with vehicles stopping in the travel lane. Singh, driving a Freightliner Cascadia, failed to react in time. His truck slammed into the rear of a Mazda 3, then relentlessly pushed it forward under the rear of a Peterbilt. The impact ignited the Mazda’s engine, though the flames were quickly contained.
Investigators determined Singh had recently entered the United States illegally in December 2023, crossing the border in Arizona. He was subsequently released into the country. He is believed to have obtained a commercial driver’s license in California, a state now under scrutiny for its licensing practices.
This incident isn’t isolated. Just last month, another semi-truck driver, Rajinder Kumar, illegally in the country, caused a fatal crash in Oregon, claiming the lives of two people after his trailer jackknifed. Like Singh, Kumar had secured a CDL in California.
The pattern extends further back. In October, Jashanpreet Singh, also an Indian national who entered the US illegally, was involved in a fiery crash in Southern California that killed three individuals. He, too, had been released into the country by border authorities and obtained a CDL in California.
Over the summer, a similar tragedy unfolded on a Florida highway, where Harjinder Singh, another driver with a California-issued CDL and illegal status, caused a crash resulting in three fatalities. His reckless maneuver – an illegal U-turn – sparked outrage and questions about oversight.
These cases have ignited a fierce debate about the safety implications of unregulated immigration within the trucking industry. Concerns are mounting that a system prioritizing profit over safety is endangering lives on America’s highways.
The common thread running through these devastating events is the presence of drivers who entered the country illegally, obtained commercial driver’s licenses, and were subsequently involved in fatal crashes. The question now is how to prevent future tragedies and ensure the safety of all those who share the road.
