Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday announced the initial results of a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration investigation into a recent deadly crash on the Florida turnpike, and it's calling out certain states for not following federal rules.
The schism erupted after a particularly awful crash where a truck driver cut across two lanes of traffic to attempt an illegal U-turn, resulting in the death of three people in a mini van who slammed into the side of the trailer as it blocked the highway.
"The investigation will focus on the driver involved in the crash and the motor carrier, White Hawk Carriers, Inc.," according to a DOT press release. The investigation so far has found the driver did not speak English "and both Washington State and New Mexico violated FMCSA rules."
DOT Secretary Duffy said in the release that had the states followed the rules, “this driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us. This crash was a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures. Non-enforcement and radical immigration policies have turned the trucking industry into a lawless frontier, resulting in unqualified foreign drivers improperly acquiring licenses to operate 40-ton vehicles."
FMCSA investigators began an "on-site compliance investigation on August 14, 2025, at the motor carrier's premises in California," according to the release. "During the initial phase of the compliance investigation, investigators reviewed driver qualification files, obtained in-cab and forward-facing video footage of the crash, and conducted interviews with key personnel including the crash-involved driver."
FMCSA spoke to the driver and administered an English language proficiency test in line with the agency's new guidance on the topic published in June. The driver failed that assessment, "providing correct responses to just 2 of 12 verbal questions and only accurately identifying 1 of 4 highway traffic signs."
[Related: Homeland Security says it will work with DOT to 'prevent illegal aliens' from getting CDLs]
As for where the driver, Harjinder Singh, got his license, DOT provided some answers. From the release:
- On July 15th, 2023, Washington State issued the driver a regular full-term Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).
- Asylum seekers or individuals without legal status are NOT eligible for this type of license.
- On July 23, 2024, California issued the driver a limited-term/non-domiciled CDL.
- FMCSA is investigating the issuance of this license to determine whether it was issued in accordance with Federal regulations.
- On July 3, 2025, the New Mexico State Police conducted a roadside inspection of the driver and issued a speeding ticket, but there is no indication that an ELP assessment was administered.
- New Mexico has not yet begun enforcing ELP as an out-of-service condition, despite the requirement being in effect since June 25, 2025.
“We will use every tool at our disposal to hold these states and bad actors accountable," said Duffy. "President Trump and I will restore safety to our roads. The families of the deceased deserve justice.”
Conspicuously missing from DOT's list of states who broke rules is California, which does not enforce the new ELP guidance.
[Related: Vehicular homicide charges for driver after Florida turnpike U-turn crash kills 3]
"The failures here are despicable," Duffy wrote on social media, echoing his quote from the press release.
A California DMV representative told Overdrive it complied with all federal laws in granting Singh a CDL. Here's what the rep said:
"The DMV followed all federal and state laws in reviewing and granting Mr. Harjinder Singh his California commercial driver's license. The federal government confirmed Mr. Singh's legal presence in the United States. The DMV has a comprehensive process for reviewing and approving California commercial driver’s license applications. Applicants must provide the DMV a standard required set of documents that must be confirmed using the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system and the federal employment authorization process. The DMV confirmed Mr. Singh’s documents using the federal SAVE system. Furthermore, Mr. Singh’s commercial driver’s license is a federal REAL ID, which he was entitled to receive given the federal government's confirmation of his legal status."
Overdrive inquired with DOT about the validity of California's claims but has not heard back.
On the same day, the Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association wrote a letter to the DOT urging them to suspend states' issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, which states can issue to non-citizens.
The DOT is in the middle of an "audit" of all non-domiciled CDL issuance. Overdrive reporting on all states' CDL issuing bodies is available in a comprehensive report on non-domiciled CDL issuance, including totals from each state. Download the report below.
