The family of Indian-origin truck driver Harjinder Singh has appealed for a lighter sentence after a Florida highway crash left three people dead and placed him at risk of spending decades in a US prison.The 28-year-old Harjinder is from Rataul village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, and faces three counts of vehicular homicide for allegedly causing a fatal accident on the Florida Turnpike on August 12. According to investigators, he was driving a tractor-trailer and took an illegal U-turn before colliding with a minivan carrying three passengers. Two died at the scene and the third later in the hospital.After the incident, Harjinder travelled to California but was arrested by US Marshals and brought back to Florida. Under state law, each count of vehicular homicide can carry up to 15 years in prison.
‘Should not be given harsh punishment’
Relatives in Punjab said the situation has left the family shocked. “His age is 28 years, and if he gets 45 years of jail, then you can imagine what will be the condition of his family,” said Dilbagh Singh, a relative. “We are also saddened over the death of three persons in the accident. Similar incidents have taken place earlier as well.”Villagers in Rataul have also expressed support, saying the crash was not intentional. “Though it was his mistake to make a U-turn, he should not be awarded any harsh punishment, otherwise his entire life gets ruined,” one villager was quoted as sayin to news agency PTI. Another added, “It was his bad luck that such an accident took place.”Harjinder’s elder brother, Tejinder Singh, lives in Tarn Taran with his family and their mother. Their father has passed away, and the family depends on farming for a living.
Foreign drivers ‘endangering American lives’: Rubio
The case has drawn attention at the political level. Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal urged external affairs minister S Jaishankar to ensure consular access for Harjinder. She also objected to the US decision to freeze commercial truck driver visas after the crash, a move announced by US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who said foreign drivers were “endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.”Badal said any blanket action would hurt the Punjabi community, which plays a key role in the US trucking industry. “Punjabi and Sikh drivers make up 20 per cent of the United States’ trucking industry. Any mass-level action against them would have a detrimental effect on trucking families and would be discriminatory,” she said.An online petition seeking leniency for Harjinder has received over 18 lakh signatures. The petition was created by the collective Punjabi youth group, which stated that while accountability is necessary, the charges do not match the circumstances of the case.Harjinder moved to the US in 2018 after mortgaging his land. Records show he entered illegally through California and was detained by Border Patrol before being released on a $5,000 bond. His immigration case is still pending. The department of homeland security has described him as “a significant threat to public safety” due to the seriousness of the crash.
