Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that California’s sanctuary state policies are to blame for a deadly collision that involved a semi-truck and a minivan on the Florida Turnpike in Fort Pierce, last week.
A commercial tractor-trailer driven by an illegal alien was heading northbound in the right lane of the turnpike as a Chrysler Town & Country minivan was traveling north in the Turnpike’s left lane, Fox-13 reported.
From the right lane, the semi-truck attempted to make a U-turn at an “official use only” turn-around area, crossing directly in front of vehicles in the left lane.
The driver of the minivan was unable to avoid hitting the truck and ended up wedged underneath the trailer. The collision killed all three Floridians in the minivan.
Two of the passengers, a 37-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man, died at the scene of the crash. The driver of the minivan, a 30-year-old man, was flown to a nearby hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Neither the driver of the semi-truck nor the passenger sustained any injuries.
The driver of the semi, Harjinder Singh, 28, of India, was arrested and charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and is being held on an ICE detainer, WFLA reported.
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), Singh entered the U.S. illegally through the Mexico border in 2018 and was given a Commercial Driver’s License in California.
“The actions taken by the Defendant while operating a commercial tractor-trailer are both shocking and criminal,” FLHSMV Director Dave Kerner said in a press release Saturday. “Three people lost their lives as a result of his recklessness, and countless friends and family members will experience the pain of their loss forever. Harjinder Singh is in custody on state vehicular homicide charges and immigration violations. He will no longer be able to damage and destroy the lives of Floridians and visitors. At the conclusion of his state charges, he will be deported. The Florida Highway Patrol remains committed to enforcing both state and federal law to ensure that people that are a danger to others face justice behind bars.”
DeSantis said the accident never should have happened.
“He never should have been here, He certainly never should have gotten a Commercial Driver’s License from California!” DeSantis declared during a press conference in St. Cloud, Florida. The governor said it was disturbing to see video of Singh milling around after the crash looking annoyed like he had “just stubbed his toe.”
He pointed out that in Florida, they don’t allow illegal aliens to obtain drivers’ licenses.
“We’re creating a situation where following the law is the right thing to do and violating the law is the wrong thing to do,” DeSantis explained.
In Governor Newsom’s California, “they do it differently,” he continued. “They invite people to come illegally, provide benefits. Honestly, some of them get treated better than blue-collar Americans out there.”
DeSantis expressed frustration that California’s sanctuary state policies have undermined Florida’s common sense law barring illegals from driver’s licenses.
“We are doing the right thing, and then to have a California send this guy in and create havoc for our state—that’s just fundamentally wrong,” he lamented.
The governor demanded that Congress defund all sanctuary states.
“It can’t just be that we do things right in Florida, and somehow, that’s gonna cure what’s happening on the left coast and some of those other places. Ultimately, Congress has the power of the purse. They do not need to fund you if you’re a sanctuary state. They can remove funding from sanctuary cities, so stop subsidizing this!”
DeSantis scolded fellow Republicans for failing to move against Sanctuary Cities.
“You guys have the power of the purse. You can discipline these states that don’t follow the law and incentivize lawbreaking,” he said.
President Donald Trump said back in April that his administration was finalizing plans to withhold all federal funding for sanctuary cities and states providing safe harbor to illegal aliens.
“No more Sanctuary Cities! They protect the Criminals, not the Victims,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “They are disgracing our Country, and are being mocked all over the World.”
Congressional Republicans have held several hearings this year to address the Blue State lawlessness, but so far no concrete action has been taken.
The Justice Department identified nearly three dozen cities and states across the country as sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. Four of those states—California, New York, Colorado and Illinois—are already facing lawsuits over their immigration policies.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Pam Bondi threatened additional legal action against jurisdictions with uncooperative immigration policies.
Bondi said in a statement on August 5 that these sanctuary cities and states “impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design.”
“The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country,” the AG stated.