Second Sikh Truck Driver Crash in US, Fraternity Under Fire

On 23 Oct, US police arrested a 21-year-old Sikh truck driver Jashanpreet Singh for causing a crash that killed at least three people and injured several others in Southern California. According to the police, Jashanpreet’s 18-wheeler semi-truck plowed into slow-moving traffic on Interstate 10 in San Bernardino County. His blood reports show he was allegedly under the influence of intoxicants. The US Department of Homeland Security said Jashanpreet was not a lawful immigrant and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer following his arrest. Jashanpreet had supposedly illegally crossed the southern US border in 2022 and was released under the former US President Joe Biden administration’s 'alternatives to detention' policy pending an immigration hearing. He has Employment Authorization Documents valid up to 2030 and a commercial driver's license to operate a semi-truck. His family has denied claims that he was intoxicated while driving saying he is an Amritdhari (initiated Sikh, forbidden to indulge in substance abuse). Jashanpreet has pleaded not guilty to three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of driving under the influence of a drug. His next court appearance is on 4 Nov, requiring a Panjabi interpreter. Jashanpreet appeared in court bareheaded raising concerns about his treatment in jail. An online petition has called for fairness and urged the authorities to ‘return his turban respecting his rights and dignity as a Sikh.’ In August, another Sikh Harjinder Singh—who entered the US illegally in 2018 and obtained a California commercial license—was charged in Florida for a crash that also killed three people. The two incidents have placed about 100K Sikh immigrant truck drivers in the US under scrutiny. They have spurred online vitriol against Sikhs who often desire high-paying trucking jobs in the US which allow Sikh men to wear beards, uncut hair, and turbans. Meanwhile, Democrat Tom Suozzi has written to the US War Secretary Peter Hegseth, urging reconsideration of a policy requiring military personnel to shave beards, affecting Sikh Americans and others with religious or medical obligations (earlier coverage).