When undocumented truck driver Harjinder Singh killed three Floridians in a traffic accident, highway troopers didn't immediately arrest him because they didn't have probable cause, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday.
Florida Highway Patrol had to conduct an investigation to determine what actually occurred because all of the witnesses were dead, DeSantis said at a Tampa press conference. Singh then "fled" to California, where he was arrested by the U.S. Marshals four days after the St. Lucie deaths.
This is the first time the governor has touched on how Singh, an Indian national who doesn't speak English, was able to leave Florida after committing vehicular manslaughter.
"The witnesses were dead...It wasn't obvious to the troopers at the time that there was a criminal offense that had been committed." DeSantis said. "If you had someone that had survived, then you may have been able to get probable cause at the scene."
A source familiar with the investigation confirmed to The Floridian that troopers drew Singh's blood in the aftermath of the crash and brought someone who could "speak his language" to question him on the details of the crash.
Singh refused to talk, the source said.
DeSantis added that troopers "did what was right" by conducting an investigation and obtaining video showing that Singh, 28, had made an illegal U-turn across a St. Lucie highway on Aug. 12, blocking four lanes of traffic and making it impossible for a minivan to stop from hurtling into its side.
The minivan's two passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, and the driver died later at the hospital.
Four days later, U.S. Marshals arrested Singh in Stockton, California, on three counts of vehicular manslaughter. Florida Lieutenant Gov. Jay Collins, along with state law enforcement, flew to Southern California soon after to extradite Singh to the Sunshine State.
The traffic accident had national ramifications, prompting Secretary of State Marco Rubio to issue a temporary freeze on visas for foreign-born truck drivers.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation warned California, Washington, and New Mexico that they could lose millions in federal funding if they don't enforce English language proficiency standards for commercial truck drivers, News Nation reported.
The announcement follows reports that Singh, despite being undocumented and failing English proficiency tests, received a commercial driver's license in California and Washington. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday asked the federal government to ban these states from issuing future CDLs.
