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Florida’s attorney general issued a subpoena to the employer of Harjinder Singh. Singh is accused of making an illegal U-Turn on a Florida turnpike that killed 3.
FLORIDA, USA — A criminal subpoena was issued to the employer of Harjinder Singh, the Stockton truck driver accused of making an illegal U-Turn on the Florida Turnpike, which led to a crash that killed three people in a minivan.
The subpoena called White Hawk Carriers Inc. to appear Sept. 24 before a statewide prosecutor in Tampa, Florida.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said the legal action was tied to the Aug. 12 case but separate. He also issued legal demands to California and Washington for their role in issuing the commercial driver’s license.
Florida officials called for documentation that includes Singh’s personnel file, hiring date, resume, job application, minimum qualifications for the job, administrative notes and records and any filings with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Documents also include the company’s policies surrounding the English proficiency of drivers and documentation showing citizenship or legal status of each driver and, for any non-citizens, their authorization to work in the U.S.
Other documents would include anything related to Singh’s CDL license in Washington state and California.
Who is Harjinder Singh?
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security previously said Singh, from Stockton but a native of India, was in the country illegally.
Florida authorities said Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018. According to Homeland Security, Singh obtained a commercial driver’s license in California. The state is one of 19, in addition to the District of Columbia, that issue licenses regardless of immigration status, according to the National Immigration Law Center.
Florida Lt. Governor Jay Collins has said Singh lacks basic English proficiency and did not know the road signs.
At the time, Newsom’s press office responded on the X platform that Singh obtained a work permit while Donald Trump was president. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin disputed that, saying the federal government denied him a permit during Trump’s first term in September 2020 and granted him one in June 2021, under President Joe Biden.
A preliminary investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation found that Washington state issued Singh a regular full-term commercial driver’s license in July 2023, a type of license that people without legal status are not eligible for, according to DOT.
California then issued Singh a limited-term commercial license a year later. Federal vehicle safety officials have been investigating whether the issuance of that license complied with government regulations.
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