Overview
- A Freightliner struck a line of slowing cars on northbound Highway 99 near Harney Lane, causing a chain reaction that killed two people in a Kia and sent five others to hospital in a crash that occurred Tuesday.
- The driver, 24-year-old Manvir Singh, was arrested near the scene, booked on felony counts including vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit-and-run, and held on $185,000 bail after officers say he tried to flee on foot.
- The Department of Homeland Security identified Singh as an undocumented Indian national who allegedly entered the U.S. in 2023 and asked California officials not to release him while Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer seeking federal custody.
- The Department of Transportation and FMCSA have opened an inquiry into how Singh obtained a commercial driver’s license and will review the carrier listed for the truck, Amritsar Trans Inc., which has been cited for inspection violations in recent reports.
- State crash investigators continue evidence collection and have not ruled on causes such as impairment, and the federal scrutiny of licensing and carrier oversight could prompt changes to how states vet and issue CDLs.