Judge Denies Bond for Truck Driver in Fatal Crash

A judge in Florida has rejected the bond request for Rajinder Singh, who is an undocumented truck driver originally from India. This decision was made on Saturday by St. Lucie County Judge Lauren Sweet.

Judge Sweet found that Singh was in the country illegally and deemed him a significant flight risk. She reviewed the six charges against him, which she determined are classified as mandatory felonies under Florida law.

In her ruling, Judge Sweet stated, “There are no release conditions that guarantee you will appear in court.” As a result, she set each of his charges without bond.

Singh appeared via video link from a local jail, utilizing an interpreter to navigate the proceedings. He is facing serious charges linked to a crash on August 12 that resulted in three fatalities. The two warrants for his arrest accuse him of three counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of manslaughter.

According to investigators, Singh made an illegal U-turn with a semi-truck, causing it to jackknife and block the northbound lane of the Florida Turnpike. Tragically, a minivan collided with the truck’s trailer, resulting in the deaths of all three individuals inside.

Judge Sweet noted that the affidavits for both warrants had already been assessed by another judge. That prior ruling also found probable cause for each of Singh’s six charges.

Singh hesitated when questioned about whether he wanted legal representation, before eventually agreeing to have a public defender appointed to his case.

Singh was arrested in Stockton, California, and extradited back to Florida. He reportedly entered the U.S. illegally in 2018 and had obtained a commercial driver’s license in California, allegedly crossing through the southern border. Although he sought to acquire permission to work, his application was denied by the Trump administration in September 2020.