New York/Washington: An Indian national who entered the United States illegally three years ago has been charged with criminally negligent homicide after a highway crash in Oregon left two people dead. Rajinder Kumar, 32, was driving a semi-truck that collided with a car, killing 25-year-old William Micah Carter and 24-year-old Jennifer Lynn Lower.
According to Oregon State Police, the November 24 crash in Deschutes County involved a freightliner truck and trailer driven by Kumar that had jackknifed and come to rest across both lanes of Highway 20. A car driven by Carter then slammed into the trailer at highway speed as it lay perpendicular across the roadway, with both occupants pronounced dead at the scene while Kumar escaped without injury. Investigators said darkness and the absence of active emergency warning equipment at the time of the crash were being treated as key contributing factors.
Kumar has been lodged in the Deschutes County Jail on counts of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangering. US Department of Homeland Security officials said Immigration and Customs Enforcement has filed an arrest detainer for him, describing him as an undocumented migrant from India who crossed into the US near Lukeville, Arizona, in November 2022. They noted that he was later released into the country, obtained work authorisation and was issued a commercial driver’s licence in California.
Senior DHS officials used the case to criticise “sanctuary” policies and the issuing of commercial licences to undocumented migrants, calling Kumar a “criminal illegal” and asking how many more “senseless tragedies” must occur before such practices are curtailed. They said ICE would seek custody of Kumar if and when he is released from local detention.
Authorities pointed out that this is the fourth serious or fatal crash in recent months involving Indian nationals who allegedly entered the US illegally and were driving heavy commercial vehicles. In August, ICE lodged a detainer against Harjinder Singh after he was arrested on three counts of vehicular homicide linked to a semi-truck crash in Florida, and separately arrested Partap Singh in California over a multi-vehicle pileup that left five-year-old Dalilah Coleman with severe, life-altering injuries. In October, ICE also filed a detainer for Jashanpreet Singh, accused of killing three people in California while driving an 18-wheeler under the influence.
(Inputs from PTI)