Florida Turnpike u-turn crash Harjinder Singh, St. Lucie County
Harjinder Singh was the driver of the blue 2024 International semi-tractor truck that caused the crash.
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A tractor-trailer driver was charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter after attempting a U-turn in an “official use only” area on Florida’s Turnpike on Aug. 12, according to Florida Highway Patrol reports.
Three people from South Florida died as a result of the fatal crash while traveling northbound on the Turnpike, south of the St. Lucie County northern border.
Here’s what to know about the fatal crash and arrest of the driver.
Where did the Florida Turnpike accident happen?
The two-vehicle crash occurred near the Turnpike’s 171 mile marker, just south of the St. Lucie County northern border.
The commercial tractor-trailer, which was hauling a box trailer, was in the outside lane and attempted a U-turn into an “official use only” area along the turnpike, according to FHP.
As the tractor-trailer crossed “over all northbound travel lanes” to make the U-turn on the access road, according to FHP, a minivan in the inside lane was “unable to avoid” it and hit it, becoming wedged under the left side of the trailer.
Who was the driver in the Florida Turnpike accident?
Harjinder Singh was the driver of the blue 2024 International truck-trailer that caused the crash.
On Aug. 16, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles issued a news release that identified the driver as Singh and stated FHP troopers charged Singh with three counts of vehicular homicide before they obtained an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.
“Harjinder Singh is in custody on state vehicular homicide charges and immigration violations,” said Dave Kerner, the department’s executive director, in the Aug. 16 news release. “He will no longer be able to damage and destroy the lives of Floridians and visitors. After his state charges, he will be deported.”
Singh was in the country illegally, having crossed into the U.S. from Mexico in 2018, according to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Singh obtained a commercial driver’s license in California, according to the department.
Florida Turnpike accident victims
Officials have not released the names of the deceased, but here’s what we know about those involved in the crash:
- 30-year-old Florida City man
- 37-year-old Pompano Beach woman
- 54-year-old Miami man
They were in a black 2015 Chrysler Town & Country van. Two of them were pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver was taken to Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, where he died on Aug. 12.
Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429, or follow her on X @gonthescene.
