A California father says Gov. Gavin Newsom has ignored his pleas for answers after an illegal immigrant truck driver caused what he says was a devastating crash that left his young daughter with life-altering injuries.
"We never did receive anything back from the governor. We never received a call back. We never received a 'governor's going to look into this.' We didn't receive anything," Marcus Coleman told "America’s Newsroom" Thursday.
His daughter, Dalilah Coleman, was 5 years old at the time of the crash in Southern California last year. Coleman said a semi-truck failed to stop and caused a multi-vehicle pileup. Dalilah was airlifted to a children’s hospital, where she stayed more than a month, much of it in a coma.
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"She has a TBI [traumatic brain injury]. She is now diagnosed with cerebral palsy and global developmental delay. She doesn't walk. She receives nutrition through a G-tube," said Ileana Krause, Dalilah’s mother.
Photo of Dalilah Coleman, provided by DHS. Dalilah was 5 years old when she was injured in a 2024 California crash and lives with lasting injuries. (DHS)
An illegal immigrant from India, identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Partap Singh, has since been arrested in connection with the crash. Authorities accused him of driving at an unsafe speed and failing to stop for traffic at a construction zone. DHS said the suspect was issued a commercial driver's license in California.
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On June 20, 2024, a multi-car crash in California was allegedly caused by a commercial 18-wheeler driven by Partap Singh, according to authorities. (DHS)
Earlier this year, another illegal immigrant was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations after police say he caused a crash in Florida.
Authorities in that case said the suspect, Harjinder Singh, tried to make a U-turn in an unauthorized area. The trailer jackknifed and collided with a minivan, killing three people inside.
Harjinder Singh obtained a commercial driver’s license in Washington in 2023 and a limited-term commercial driver’s license in California in 2024.
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has called on Newsom to act to prevent future tragedies.
"Dalilah Coleman’s life was forever changed when an illegal alien driving an 18-wheeler slammed into her and her family. This tragedy was entirely preventable," Noem said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks in Quito, Ecuador in July 2025. (Getty Images/Alex Brandon)
"This is sadly another example of Gavin Newsom’s California Department of Motor Vehicles issuing an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License. How many more innocent people must become victims before Gavin Newsom stops playing games with American lives?"
A spokesperson for Newsom’s office pushed back, saying responsibility for the crash rests with the federal government, not the state.
"Our hearts go out to the Coleman family," the office said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
They also hit back at Noem, writing:
"It’s deeply disappointing to see Secretary Noem politicize such a horrific tragedy. The FEDERAL government issued the driver a federal work permit (and RENEWED IT AFTER THE ACCIDENT), making him eligible for a driver’s license — not only in California, BUT IN ANY STATE. Madam Secretary, please stop peddling false and misleading information."
Coleman and Krause say they want answers.
"She didn't deserve this. She was a very sweet girl, and she still is. And you could see that light of her still shining through," Krause said.
"But we miss who she was."