An Indian truck driver was detained after a semi-truck he was operating allegedly ran a red light and triggered a three-vehicle crash that killed a 64-year-old Indiana man on 18 February, according to Fox News. The collision occurred at a rural intersection west of Indianapolis, where authorities said the semi struck a pickup, leading to the fatal chain-reaction crash.
The crash occurred amid heightened scrutiny in the US over commercial driving licences issued to foreign-born drivers, particularly after several recent deadly crashes involving Indian truck operators.
According to the report, the collision occurred shortly before noon at US 36 and County Road 525 East in Hendricks County, between Avon and Danville. A Freightliner tractor-trailer travelling eastbound failed to stop at a red signal and struck a northbound Chevrolet pickup.
The Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Indiana State Police detained one of the drivers, Sukhdeep Singh, for federal immigration authorities. Television footage from the scene showed officers placing a man in handcuffs near the damaged semi-truck. Sukhdeep received commercial driver’s licence from Indiana in May 2025.
Officials said it is still unclear whether alcohol or drugs played any role in the crash. They are examining vehicle data, skid marks and signal timing. Local media reported him as an “illegal alien” who was caught and released at the border in 2018 by the first administration of Donald Trump. He was reportedly a minor at the time.
The US Department of Homeland Security linked the case to concerns over non-citizen commercial drivers following another fatal Indiana semi-truck crash earlier this month that killed four people.
In a statement to Fox News, DHS said, “It is incredibly dangerous for illegal aliens, who often don’t know our traffic laws or even English, to be operating semi-trucks on America’s roads.”
SCRUTINY AFTER FATAL CRASHES
Fatal crashes involving Indian-origin truck drivers in the US have sparked debate, with critics questioning how some non-citizen drivers obtained commercial licences and whether safety checks are strong enough.
In one of the cases, an Indian national was charged with homicide after a semi-truck crash killed two people in Oregon, while authorities said he had entered the US without documentation and later obtained a commercial licence. Another Florida crash involving an Indian trucker who made an illegal U-turn and killed three motorists intensified scrutiny.
In response to a series of fatal incidents, US regulators have also tightened English-proficiency enforcement and reviewed thousands of commercial licences, moves that have disproportionately affected Indian-origin truckers because they form a large share of the immigrant long-haul workforce.
