A 21-year-old semitruck driver who caused a crash that killed three people and injured two others in Ontario was determined to have not been driving under the influence at the time of the crash, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said.
“Toxicology reports confirmed none of the substances tested were present in the defendant’s blood at the time the test was rendered,” the office said in a statement while announcing on Friday it filed an amended complaint against Jashanpreet Singh that maintains three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Singh now also faces one count of reckless driving on a highway causing a specified injury, the DA’s office said. He no longer faces a count of DUI causing injury.
Prosecutors allege Singh was driving a Freightliner semitruck on the westbound 10 Freeway near the 15 Freeway interchange when, about 1:10 p.m. on Oct. 21, he failed to stop for slowed traffic, triggering a chain-reaction crash that involved four commercial big rigs and four other vehicles.
Killed in the crash were Clarence Nelson, 76 of Fontana, his wife, Lisa Nelson, 69, according to the San Bernardino County Coroner. The criminal complaint identified the third fatal victim as Jaime Flores Garcia, but his age and city of residence were not known.
Clarence Nelson, who was in the passenger seat in their vehicle, was a former assistant basketball coach at Pomona High School.
Singh was also accused of causing injury to Juan Chavez Alvarez and Tamara Lynn Gay, according to the complaint.
The Department of Homeland Security has said that Singh, originally from India, entered the United States at the southern border in 2022 and applied for asylum. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged the detainer, signaling that federal authorities should be notified 48 hours before Singh is released from local custody.
