Bathinda: US authorities have arrested Manvir Singh, an undocumented Indian national, following a hit-and-run near Lodi, California, that killed two people. Singh's arrest marks the fifth time in nine months that an Indian-origin trucker has been detained after a fatal road incident in the United States, bringing the total death toll across these incidents to 11.
Details of the Incident
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported on Thursday that Singh veered off the road, struck a guardrail, and triggered a collision before fleeing on foot. He now faces charges of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run in San Joaquin County. Singh had previously been apprehended and released at the Arizona border in 2023.
The DHS posted on X, "This alien never should have been behind the wheel of a semi-truck."
Series of Fatalities Involving Indian Nationals
The Lodi crash is the latest in a string of fatal accidents involving Indian-origin drivers. In February 2026, Sukhdeep Singh, 25, allegedly ran a red light in Indiana, killing a 64-year-old man. Sukhdeep Singh, an undocumented immigrant since 2018, had obtained his commercial driver's license in May 2025. In November 2025, Rajinder Kumar, 32, was charged in a crash that killed two newlyweds in Oregon. In October 2025, Jashanpreet Singh, 21, was arrested after a DUI-related crash claimed three lives in California. In August 2025, Harjinder Singh, 25, allegedly killed three people during a reckless U-turn in Florida.
Regulatory Response and Legal Challenges
The surge in fatalities prompted the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to implement new rules limiting "non-domiciled" commercial driver's licenses (CDLs). In response, the Sikh Coalition and United Sikhs filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) after the state moved to cancel over 20,000 licenses. The advocacy groups argue that the mass cancellations unfairly target the 150,000 Indians—90% of whom are drivers—who power the U.S. trucking industry. They claim the new rules devastate livelihoods based on the actions of a few.
The incident has reignited debates over immigration enforcement and road safety regulations concerning foreign drivers in the United States.
