Judge denies bond for illegal immigrant trucker in deadly Florida Turnpike wreck

A Florida judge on Saturday denied bond to Rajinder Singh, an illegal migrant trucker from India accused of causing a deadly crash in Fort Pierce that killed three people.

St. Lucie County Judge Lauren Sweet ruled that Singh is an unauthorized alien and a substantial flight risk.

Sweet also found probable cause for all six charges against Singh and classified them as forcible felonies under Florida law.

Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old illegal alien from India who was arrested on Aug. 16, 2025, allegedly attempted to make an unauthorized U-turn in Ft. Pierce, Florida resulting in a crash that killed three people. (United States Marshals Service)

Sweet said that both arrest warrant affidavits were previously reviewed by a judge. Each judge found probable cause at that time for each of the six charges.

“This court finds there is probable cause to believe you committed a forcible felony for all six charges,” Sweet said.

Singh hesitated when asked if he wanted an attorney before Sweet provisionally appointed the public defender’s office to represent him.

Harjinder Singh is escorted onto an airplane by Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and law enforcement on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Stockton, Calif.  (Benjamin Fanjoy/AP Photo)

Singh was arrested in Stockton, California, last week and extradited back to Florida.  

Harjinder Singh, who crossed into the United States illegally in 2018 via the southern border, obtained a commercial driver’s license in California. He attempted to obtain work authorization, but it was rejected by the first Trump administration on Sept. 14, 2020, according to Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs.