WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer against Chamkaur Singh, 30, an Indian national, after he was arrested in Moab, Utah, in connection with a California case involving a fatal multi-vehicle crash.According to information released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Singh was stopped by Moab City Police on September 1, 2026, after officers observed the semi-truck he was driving traveling about 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. A records check showed that Singh was wanted under a nationwide California warrant for homicide–vehicular manslaughter.Singh was arrested without incident and booked into the Grand County Jail. ICE lodged an immigration detainer the following day.
Fatal Ontario crash
The case stems from a March 29 crash in Ontario, California. According to DHS, a semi-truck rear-ended a vehicle while California Highway Patrol officers were responding to another collision. One passenger was killed and another critically injured. The truck then struck another vehicle, killing a second person. Seven vehicles were reportedly involved, with additional injuries reported.
Moab police said the California warrant had been issued by CHP on April 4, 2026, and that investigators had been pursuing Singh for approximately two months before his arrest in Utah. Local reporting has also described the broader California incident as involving four fatalities, although the DHS account of the Ontario crash describes two deaths.
California CDL issued to Singh
DHS says Singh was issued a California commercial driver’s license (CDL) on May 10, 2025 and that the license remained active despite three convictions appearing on his CDL driving record: improper lane/location, following too closely and speeding.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized California’s immigration and licensing policies, arguing that Singh should not have been released into the United States or permitted to hold a commercial driving credential.
Those statements are DHS’s characterization of the case and of California and federal immigration policies; they should not be treated as an independent finding that those policies caused the crash.
DHS account of Singh’s immigration history
DHS says Singh reported leaving India in December 2020 and traveling through the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico before entering the United States through Arizona in August 2021.
According to the department, Singh was encountered and arrested by U.S. Border Patrol but was subsequently released into the country during the Biden administration.
Other Indian nationals cited by DHS
In its statement, DHS also referenced several other cases involving Indian nationals and commercial vehicles:
* Manvir Singh — ICE lodged a detainer in May after his arrest over a California semi-truck crash that DHS says killed two people near Lodi.
* Aman Kumar — ICE arrested him in May after a hit-and-run in Fresno that injured a 4-year-old boy.
* Partap Singh — DHS says he caused a multi-vehicle crash while driving an 18-wheeler in San Bernardino in June 2024, seriously injuring a 5-year-old child and others.
* Manjit Singh — ICE lodged a detainer in September after he was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide following a semi-truck crash in Brown County, Ohio. DHS says he had obtained his CDL in California.
* Gunpreet Singh and Jasveer Singh — ICE lodged detainers in January after the two were arrested in Indiana in a case involving more than 300 pounds of cocaine allegedly being transported in a semi-truck. DHS says both had California-issued CDLs.
* Rajinder Kumar — DHS says he was involved in a fatal Oregon semi-truck crash that killed a newlywed couple and was later arrested by ICE.
* Harjinder Singh — ICE lodged a detainer after DHS said his semi-truck made an illegal U-turn in Florida and killed three people.
These cases involve separate individuals and separate allegations or convictions and should not be interpreted as evidence about Indian truck drivers or Indian Americans generally.
Case remains a legal matter
Singh is accused in connection with the California fatal crash, and the allegations will be addressed through the criminal and immigration processes. The immigration detainer itself is a request by ICE for the jail to notify and hold an individual for immigration authorities under applicable federal procedures; it is not a criminal conviction.
The Moab arrest brought an end to a months-long search for Singh, who had continued driving a semi-truck in Utah before the traffic stop exposed the outstanding California warrant.