Semi-Truck Driver Arrested in Crash That Killed 29-Year-Old in Washington

Kamalpreet Singh, who has a commercial driver’s license issued by California, was arrested Thursday and charged with vehicular manslaughter.

Trucks drive on Interstate 80 in Albany, Calif., on Nov. 14, 2025. California is preparing to revoke 17,000 commercial driver's licenses that were issued to immigrants whose license expiration dates exceeded their legal U.S. stay. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A California-licensed semi-truck driver has been arrested, with police saying the big rig he was driving smashed into a passenger car, killing a 29-year-old man in Washington on Thursday.

Kamalpreet Singh, 25, remained in King County, Washington, custody on Friday and faces a charge of vehicular homicide, according to jail records.

“He had a commercial driver’s license out of California,” Washington State Patrol Spokesman Chris Loftis told The Epoch Times.

Authorities say Singh was driving a semi-truck on State Route 167 when he allegedly failed to slow down after two vehicles stopped ahead of him in Auburn, Washington, about 30 miles south of Seattle.

Robert Pearson, 29, of Bonney Lake, Washington, was driving a Mazda sedan in front of Singh’s truck, according to the state patrol. Pearson stopped behind a white 2016 Peterbilt truck and was pushed under the rear of the truck when Singh’s 2020 Freightliner Cascadia semi smashed into the back of his car.

State troopers said the engine compartment of Pearson’s car caught fire after impact, but the flames were quickly extinguished.

Pearson died on the scene, according to state police. The 28-year-old truck driver in front of him from Washington was not injured. All three drivers were wearing their seatbelts.

The crash, which blocked the roadway for nearly seven hours during the investigation, remains under investigation, the state patrol reported. Authorities don’t consider drugs or alcohol to be involved in the accident, according to the patrol’s press memo.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom referred questions about Singh’s commercial driver’s license to the state’s transportation agency. The California Department of Motor Vehicles did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

Singh is one of the semi-truck drivers with a California commercial driver’s license who were arrested in the past few months.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an arrest detainer for Jashanpreet Singh, 21, in October after he was arrested in Southern California. State officials had issued Jashanpreet Singh a federal commercial driver’s license, which was also a REAL ID.

Jashanpreet Singh, who was in the country illegally from India, was already in custody after the big rig he was driving smashed into the back of a passenger car while driving on the 10 freeway on Oct. 21. He was charged with driving the semi-truck while under the influence of drugs. Three people died instantly in the accident, and several others were injured, according to authorities.

Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old native of India who was in the United States illegally, was arrested in September for killing three people in Florida while operating a semi-truck. He was issued a commercial driver’s license from California. Harjinder Singh has pleaded not guilty to charges of vehicular manslaughter.

The recent cases have spurred the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to take action.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News on Thursday that his department was going to “hold states accountable” for issuing commercial driver’s licenses to unqualified drivers.

“These are Americans who needlessly died on American roadways because our states aren’t doing the right work to make sure we have well-qualified, certified, safe drivers on American roads,” Duffy said. “We have states that are giving out commercial driver’s licenses like candy. We are not going to have it at DOT.”