High school coach, wife ID'd as victims killed in California crash tied to illegal immigrant trucker
POMONA, CALIFORNIA: Authorities have identified two of the three people killed in a tragic semi-truck crash in Southern California as an assistant basketball coach and his wife. Another victim was a 54-year-old man from Upland.
To provide context, as per authorities, a suspected illegal immigrant, Jashanpreet Singh, 21, driving a tractor-trailer, plowed through bumper-to-bumper traffic on October 21, causing a crash that killed three people.
Clarence and Lisa Nelson identified as two people killed in semi-truck crash
The San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office confirmed that 76-year-old Clarence Nelson of Fontana and his wife, 69-year-old Lisa Nelson, died at the scene.
State Senator Susan Rubio announced on Facebook that Clarence served as the basketball coach at Pomona High School in Pomona, California.
“This week, our community was deeply saddened by the tragic incident in the City of Ontario,” Rubio wrote. “It’s heartbreaking to learn that two of the lives lost were from my district — Pomona High School basketball coach Clarence Nelson and his wife Lisa."
“As a teacher, I know how a loss like this ripples through an entire school community,” Rubio added. “My heart goes out to their families, the Pomona Unified School District, and everyone mourning this tremendous loss.”
Police stated that Singh never applied the brakes, and later toxicology tests confirmed he was under the influence of drugs.
“He was taken to the hospital and checked by medical staff. Our officers determined he was driving under the influence,” CHP Officer Rodrigo Jimenez told ABC7.
"For us officers, it’s really horrific,” said Officer Jimenez. “It’s hard knowing these families will receive the worst news of their lives.”
"This is sadly a reminder of how precious life is, and how fast it can be taken away by someone driving irresponsibly. The hardest part is knowing three people will not have a Christmas or make it home,” he added.
Who caused the semi-truck crash in San Bernardino County?
Federal authorities say 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh, an illegal immigrant from India, caused the semi-truck crash in San Bernardino County that killed three people.
Singh reportedly crossed the southern border in 2022, entered the US illegally, and was released by the Joe Biden administration after being processed by Border Patrol agents in California’s El Centro Sector. He was allowed to remain in the country pending an immigration hearing.
Investigators say Singh drove his big rig into slow-moving traffic on the I-10 Freeway without braking, causing a devastating pileup caught on dashcam video.
The crash killed at least three people and injured several others. Toxicology tests later confirmed that Singh was impaired at the time of the crash, and police arrested him on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources confirm that Singh does not have lawful immigration status. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has filed a detainer request following his arrest.
This incident adds to a growing list of deadly crashes involving illegal immigrant truck drivers. In another case, Harjinder Singh, who entered the US illegally in 2018, obtained a commercial driver’s license in California and was accused of causing a crash in August in Fort Pierce, Florida, that killed three people. According to Investigators, Harjinder failed English-language and road sign tests before receiving his license.
The San Bernardino County crash comes shortly after the Donald Trump administration announced it would withhold more than $40 million in federal highway safety funds from California for failing to meet federal English-language proficiency standards for truck drivers.
