ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — The semi-truck driver accused of causing a deadly crash on Florida’s Turnpike is being held without bond at the St. Lucie County Jail after being extradited from California.
Harjinder Singh, 28, made his first appearance before a judge Saturday morning. The suspect, an undocumented immigrant, was ordered to be held without bond. He appeared silent during most of the hearing and did not initially respond to the judge’s questions, even when asked if he wanted legal representation.
Interpreters were brought in to assist, but Singh remained mostly unresponsive. Eventually, when the public defender acting as a friend of the court recommended appointing counsel, the interpreter was able to get Singh to respond, saying, “That’s fine.”
The judge assigned a public defender to represent him for now, though he may choose to hire private counsel at a later date.
Authorities said Singh was behind the wheel of a semi-truck that made an illegal U-turn on the Turnpike in Fort Pierce on Aug. 12, leading to a violent collision. The crash left three people dead and shut down the northbound lanes of the highway for hours.
Investigators said Singh fled the state after the crash, boarding a flight to Sacramento, California, where he was later arrested. He has since been returned to Florida to face charges.
Singh is now facing three counts of vehicular manslaughter, according to St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles previously said Singh was driving “recklessly and without regard for the safety of others on the road” at the time of the crash.
This case remains under investigation. Stay with WPTV for updates.
