Truck-driving illegal alien from India arrested for horrific hit-and-run that killed 2 young Americans

California Highway Patrol officers responded around 12:20 p.m. on Tuesday to a multiple-vehicle crash near Lodi that left two young Americans dead. The man believed to be responsible for the carnage — an illegal alien from India — reportedly fled the scene on foot.

The suspect, 24-year-old Manvir Singh, was quickly tracked down and arrested by San Joaquin County sheriff's deputies and taken to the county jail, where he remains in custody as of early Thursday.

'This criminal illegal alien from India should never have been behind the wheel of a semi-truck and allowed to kill.'

The deceased, ages 20 and 16, were sitting in a Kia Forte and slowing to a stop behind a Nissan Frontier and a Toyota Camry in the far right lane of northbound Highway 99 when a heavy-duty truck driven by the suspect and carrying a fully loaded semi-trailer smashed into them, reported Freight Waves.

According to CHP, the 80,000-pound truck hammered the rear of the Kia and launched it into the Camry, killing two Americans and sending five others to hospital, two of whom suffered critical injuries.

Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed that Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom's California — where an estimated 35% of the commercial drivers are Sikh, an Indian religious group — issued Singh a commercial driver's license in March 2025.

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Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Duffy noted further that Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration investigators "are looking into how this illegal got his CDL and will investigate the trucking company who employed this driver."

Amritsar Trans Inc., the intrastate freight company that reportedly operates the truck, is registered in Manteca, California; owns or leases five vehicles; has nine drivers; is unrated by the FMCSA; and is apparently run by Baljeet Singh.

Freight Waves highlighted that the company was cited for six violations across 11 inspections in the two-year window that ended April 24, 2026. One of the violations was for speeding 15 or more miles per hour over the posted limit, and another was for falsifying duty status to conceal having driven over hours.

Manvir Singh has been charged with felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, felony hit-and-run resulting in death or injury, and obstructing or resisting arrest. The Indian, whose bail has been set at $185,000, is set to appear in court Thursday afternoon.

The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News that Manvir Singh illegally entered the country through Arizona in 2023 and was subsequently released into the U.S. by the Biden administration.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer request in hopes that California authorities will ultimately transfer the illegal alien into federal custody.

"This criminal illegal alien from India should never have been behind the wheel of a semi-truck and allowed to kill two innocent people in a multi-vehicle crash in California," DHS acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. "He is now charged with vehicular manslaughter, hit and run resulting in death or injury, and resisting a police officer."

"This is yet another example of why illegal aliens should not be operating trucks on American highways," added Bis.

Transportation Secretary Duffy emphasized that "Dalilah’s law would have revoked this illegal trucker’s license. Congress must pass Dalilah’s Law NOW."

H.R. 5688, Dalilah's Law, would ban states from issuing commercial driver's licenses to illegal aliens and limit issuance to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and holders of specific work visas. The legislation would also require the revocation of any existing ineligible CDLs.

The legislation takes its name from Dalilah Coleman, a little girl grievously injured in a car accident that was caused by an illegal alien from India who reportedly obtained a commercial driver's license from Gov. Gavin Newsom's Department of Motor Vehicles.

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