The semi-truck driver, who allegedly killed three Americans while making an illegal U-turn in Florida, failed an English language proficiency test and also failed to accurately identify highway traffic signs.
In a press release from the Department of Transportation (DOT), it was revealed that officials with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) had launched an investigation into the deadly crash in Florida, which left three people dead.
During an interview with the driver, who has been identified as Harjinder Singh, investigators administered an English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessment. Singh failed the assessment and only provided “correct responses to just 2 of 12 verbal questions,” and he only accurately identified “1 of 4 highway traffic signs,” according to the press release.
“If states had followed the rules, this driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “This crash was a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures. Non-enforcement and radical immigration policies have turned the trucking industry into a lawless frontier, resulting in unqualified foreign drivers improperly acquiring licenses to operate 40-ton vehicles.”
The press release also revealed that on July 15, 2023, Washington State “issued” Singh a “regular full-term Commercial Driver’s License (CDL),” and that on July 23, 2024, the driver was issued a “limited-term/non-domiciled CDL” in California.
Hellbound and Down 