FORT PIERCE — A California man charged with vehicular homicide and manslaughter in a two-vehicle crash on Florida’s Turnpike that left three dead earlier this month has been ordered held without bail.
Harjinder Singh, 28, an undocumented immigrant from India, made his first appearance Aug. 23 from the St. Lucie County Jail via a Zoom link to the downtown Fort Pierce courthouse. He is charged with three counts each of vehicular homicide and manslaughter.
No bail was set for each of the six charges, primarily because of his status as an undocumented immigrant.
“The court finds you present a substantial flight risk, and there are no conditions of release that will ensure your appearance at trial,” 19th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Lauren Sweet told Singh.
A Punjabi interpreter translated the judge’s instructions and words for Singh. He was brought to the St. Lucie County Jail on Aug. 22 after being returned to Florida from California the night before.
Officials earlier announced warrants were obtained for Singh for three counts of vehicular homicide, while the three additional manslaughter charges are new.
The case has turned into a political flashpoint between the Republican Trump and DeSantis administrations and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, as Florida leaders use Singh’s status as an undocumented immigrant to bolster their anti-immigrant policies and accuse blue-state Democrats of laxity on the issue.
At about 3 p.m. Aug. 12, Singh was driving a tractor-trailer on Florida’s Turnpike at mile marker 171 near the northern border of St. Lucie County when he tried to use an “official use only” cut-through from the northbound outside lane to make an illegal U-turn, authorities said. A 2015 Chrysler minivan traveling behind Singh slammed into the truck, killing a 54-year-old man from Miami, a 37-year-old woman from Pompano Beach, and a 30-year-old man from Florida City, Florida Highway Patrol said.
State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl on Aug. 23 said the Supreme Court within the last several years eliminated the “single homicide rule.”
“Any charge that is potentially related to the death could be applied to each of the deaths, so that’s how you end up with the six different charges,” he said.
Bakkedahl said vehicular homicide contains elements in the charge that are not contained in manslaughter, and manslaughter has elements not contained in vehicular homicide. “They’re just separate and distinct charges, and authorized under the law,” he said.
In general, vehicular homicide involves the reckless operation of a vehicle in such a manner that the accused should have known the way they were operating the vehicle was likely to cause a death. Manslaughter can be proven by an intentional act that results in the death of another individual or a death that occurred as a result of the culpable negligence of another, Bakkedahl said.
The Florida Highway Patrol has not released the names of the three people who died.
Singh entered the U.S. illegally through the Mexico border in 2018, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. He got a commercial driver’s license in California.
Public Defender Diamond Litty said Singh’s case has been used as a talking point for the larger issue of immigration.
“Our client is now caught in the crosshairs of political posturing, and that is unfortunate,” Litty said. “It’s highly unusual for the president to weigh in on a case in the 19th Judicial Circuit — any president.”
Litty, the circuit’s public defender since 1992, said she’s rarely seen the kind of media attention to a case this has caused.
“This case basically has been used by both parties — not just the Republicans or the Democrats — both parties to get political viewpoints across,” Litty said.
She said politics do not belong in the criminal justice system.
“It is about whether or not the state can prove beyond every reasonable doubt someone’s guilt,” Litty said.
On Aug. 20, Singh was in custody in San Joaquin County, California, when he agreed during a hearing to waive extradition. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared Aug. 21 on Fox News to discuss Singh as video played of him being taken off a jet in Tallahassee escorted by four officials, including Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, who held a handcuffed Singh by the shoulders as they exited the aircraft.
Litty said they will have to hire an interpreter when they meet with him at the jail.
Bakkedahl said Singh’s ability to read English could relate to culpable negligence and recklessness.
“If you can’t understand English and you can’t read road signs, then operating a vehicle in and of itself is an inherently dangerous activity,” he said. “But then operating an 18-wheeler … heightens the dangerousness associated with that. So those are relevant factors and relevant considerations.”
Bakkedahl’s understanding, based on contacts that law enforcement had with Singh, is that it appears he cannot speak or read English.
“Definitively, whether or not he can speak English and he’s pretending that he can’t, I couldn’t tell you, but by all accounts so far, we are of the opinion that perhaps he cannot,” Bakkedahl said. “And if you can’t speak it, one must assume you can’t read it.”
Singh is expected to be deported after his state-level charges are concluded, according to Dave Kerner, executive director of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Colleen Wixon is the education reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers.
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Undocumented immigrant accused in fatal Turnpike crash ordered held without bail
Reporting by Colleen Wixon and Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
