Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Thursday said he has issued subpoenas to the freight company that employed an immigrant trucker involved in the August crash that left three people dead on Florida's Turnpike.
Uthmeier said he issued civil and criminal subpoenas to California-based White Hawk Carriers. The company shut down shortly after the crash after its insurance was canceled and federal regulators revoked its authority to operate, according to Overdrive, a website that covers the trucking industry.
Harjinder Singh, a native of India, was charged with three state counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations. He is being held in the St. Lucie County Jail without bond.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has put a hold on Singh. The highway patrol, which investigated the crash, said Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018.
ALSO READ: Truck driver from India accused in fatal crash brought back to Florida and is denied bond
Uthmeier also made legal demands to Washington and California, states that issued Singh the licenses.
On Aug. 12, Singh made a U-turn in an area marked for "official use only" in St. Lucie, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. A minivan in the neighboring lane was unable to avoid the truck's trailer and slammed into it, killing the occupants.
The attorney general said he wants information about how Singh, who can't read road signs in English, was employed as a trucker in Florida, which doesn't issue any forms of ID to people without legal status.
"We don't just talk the talk. We're going to use every tool, every legal tool, at our disposal, to fight back and protect our citizens," said Uthmeier.
ALSO READ: Moody introduces legislation to crack down on foreign-born truck drivers
Uthmeier said he expects easier answers from the freight company than Washington and California, sanctuary states that issue driver's licenses regardless of immigration status.
"So we'll have a legal fight ahead of us, no doubt. These sanctuary states, for whatever reason, want to double down and protect criminals, but we will continue to fight the good fight, and we will prevail," said Uthmeier.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said it has launched a compliance investigation focused on Singh and White Hawk Carriers.
Attempts to contact a representative of the company by Central Florida Public Media were unsuccessful.
Meantime, the Department of Homeland Security said it arrested Harneet Singh, the driver's brother, who was in the passenger seat of the semitrainer during the crash. In an Aug. 18 press release, DHS said Harneet Singh, also from India, was in the country illegally, and that Border Patrol encountered him in May 2023 and released him into the country.
Uthmeier discussed the case during a news conference in Tampa in which he announced 10 arrests related to an organized ring responsible for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of diesel fuel across at least a dozen Florida counties.
Uthermeier said seven of the suspects are immigrants in the country illegally and three are green card holders flagged for ICE to revoke upon conviction. They face charges of rackateering and conspiracy counts, with four charged with money laundering in excess of $100,000.
The scheme involved illegally modified vans capable of carrying up to 500 gallons of stolen fuel, siphoned directly from dozens of gas station storage tanks.
"Fuel theft of this magnitude puts drivers at risk, undermines the integrity of our fuel supply, and robs businesses in our communities," said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, who appeared at the news conference with Uthmeier.
Information from Danielle Prieur of Central Florida Public Media and The Associated Press was used in this report.
Copyright 2025 WUSF 89.7
