Gov. Ron DeSantis is sending Florida's new Lieutenant Governor to California to "take possession" of the undocumented truck driver who killed three people in a traffic incident, he announced Wednesday.
Jay Collins, a retired Green Beret and the newly-appointed Lieutenant Governor of Florida, is en route to California as of 3:00 p.m. Thursday to bring Harjinder Singh, a truck driver illegally in the United States, to Florida and "throw the book at him."
"Tomorrow morning, [Collins] is going to take possession of this illegal alien, extradite him back to the state of Florida, and we're going to throw the book at him when he gets back here for what he did," DeSantis said at a Lake Worth press conference. "You can count on that."
Singh, who illegally entered the United States in 2018, is accused of killing three people when he attempted an illegal U-turn on a St. Lucie highway with his tractor-trailer, blocking four lanes of traffic.
A minivan containing three people was unable to brake in time and hurtled into the trailer, the New York Post reported.
An Indian citizen, Singh received commercial driver's licenses in California and Washington. He was arrested in California on Saturday by the US Marshals on three counts of vehicular homicide.
He was nearly deported in 2018 but claimed asylum, fearing for his safety if he returned to India.
"That is not what asylum is for," DeSantis said Wednesday.
Florida during the 2025 legislative session passed a sweeping anti-illegal immigration law allowing for severe penalties against migrants arrested in the state without documentation.
One provision mandates the death penalty for undocumented migrants convicted of a capital crime.
Collins, formerly a Tampa Senator, was named Lieutenant Governor last week following months of speculation. He was named long after the previous LG, Jeanette Nuñez, left the post to serve as president of Florida International University.
