The employer of Harjinder Singh, the Indian truck driver, who became responsible for the death of three people in Florida as he took a wrong U-turn with his commercial semi, has been issued civil and criminal subpoenas in the ongoing case. Harjinder Singh did not know how to speak English; he could not read road signs, and hence his employer must explain how he was hired, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said. Harjinder Singh used to work for WhiteHawk Carriers. The CEO of the travel company is another Indian-origin person, Navneet Kaur. The subpoena ordered Navneet Kaur to provide all documents and evidence for inspection. Uthmeier said his office is targeting Singh’s employer, White Hawk Carriers, to investigate how he was hired and licensed. “We’re going to use every legal tool at our disposal to fight back and protect our citizens,” Uthmeier said adding that legal demands have been sent to California and Washington to find out why Harjinder Singh was issued a CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) in the first place. “This guy did not know how to speak English, he could not read road signs, and he never should have received that CDL license in the first place,” Uthmeier said.
What is the row over Harjinder Singh?
On August 12, an Indian-origin truck driver, Harjinder Singh, 28, allegedly made an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike. This caused a collision that killed three people in a minivan. A Florida judge denied him bond, citing his undocumented status and risk of flight. He was extradited from California to Florida and is now held in St. Lucie County jail. It was found out that he entered the US illegally in 2018 and was detained days after he entered the US. He sought asylum and his immigration case was still pending but he got a work permit and driving license and was working as a truck driver. His brother was also arrested and both of them stand to be deported to India. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio halted work visas for commercial truck drivers, and the Department of Transportation weighed action against states not enforcing English-proficiency standards.