A 22-year-old Indian-origin truck driver, who authorities said was living in the United States illegally, has been sentenced to four years and eight months in state prison for causing a devastating eight-vehicle collision on a California freeway that left three people dead and four others injured.
Jashanpreet Singh was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter stemming from the October 2025 crash on Interstate 10 in Ontario, San Bernardino County.
High-Speed Crash Captured on Dashcam
The fatal collision occurred on October 21, 2025, at around 1:10 p.m. on the westbound Interstate 10 Freeway near the Milliken Avenue offramp, close to the Interstate 15 interchange.
According to investigators, traffic had slowed significantly before the crash. However, Singh, who was driving a Freightliner tractor-trailer, failed to apply the brakes and ploughed into slowed or stopped vehicles at high speed.
Dashcam footage from Singh's truck captured the horrifying sequence of events. The truck first slammed into a white SUV before crashing into several other vehicles, including another commercial truck. It then crossed two lanes and struck a disabled truck parked on the freeway's right shoulder, triggering a massive chain-reaction collision involving eight vehicles.
Three Dead, Four Injured
The violent crash claimed the lives of three people Robert Joe Dixon, Charles Blackmon and Miguel Sanchez Ramirez while four others sustained injuries.
The incident caused extensive damage and temporarily shut down the busy freeway as emergency responders carried out rescue and recovery operations.
DUI Suspicion Dropped After Investigation
Authorities initially arrested Singh on suspicion of driving under the influence. However, toxicology tests later confirmed that he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, leading prosecutors to drop the DUI allegation.
Investigators instead concluded that the crash resulted from gross negligence, alleging Singh failed to react to slowing traffic despite having sufficient opportunity to avoid the collision.
Guilty Plea and Prison Sentence
Singh, who was 21 at the time of the crash, pleaded guilty in June to three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter.
On Tuesday, San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Shannon L. Faherty sentenced him to four years and eight months in state prison.
The case drew widespread attention due to the scale of the crash, the initial DUI investigation, and Singh's immigration status. It also renewed discussions about commercial trucking safety and driver vigilance on heavily trafficked highways.
