CHANDIGARH: A 25-year-old Indian origin semi-truck driver hailing from Punjab has been arrested in the United States after his truck allegedly ran a red light and triggered a three-vehicle crash that killed a 64-year-old Indiana man on Wednesday.
The accused trucker driver Sukhdeep Singh was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to the report, the collision occurred shortly before noon at US 36 and County Road 525 East in Hendricks County, between Avon and Danville, located just west of Indianapolis. A Freightliner tractor-trailer travelling eastbound failed to stop at a red signal and struck a northbound Chevrolet pickup.
Police are yet to determine whether alcohol or drugs contributed to the crash and are examining vehicle data, skid marks, and traffic signal timing as part of the investigation.
As per US authorities, Singh was first detained in 2018 and then released under the 1997 Flores consent decree, which mandated that children who crossed the border illegally were to be released to a parent or adult relative rather than being detained during the first Donald Trump administration. He was reportedly a minor at the time.
In January this year, he moved to New Palestine from New York were he lived earlier.
The Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Indiana State Police detained one of the drivers, Sukhdeep Singh, for federal immigration authorities.
The US Department of Homeland Security linked the case to concerns over fatal crashes involving Indian-origin truck drivers in the US, with critics questioning how some non-citizen drivers obtained commercial licences and whether safety checks are strong enough.