A 21-year-old Yuba City man who recklessly drove a big rig on the 10 Freeway in Ontario last year — smashing into vehicles and killing three people — was sentenced to four years and eight months in state prison, court records show.
Jashanpreet Singh, who federal authorities said was in the country illegally, was handed the sentence in San Bernardino County Superior Court on Tuesday, July 14 after pleading guilty last month to three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
One count of reckless driving causing great bodily injury was dismissed as a result of the plea deal, court records show.
Singh was driving a Freightliner semitruck westbound on the 10 Freeway, near the 15 Freeway interchange. He approached slow traffic but failed to stop — triggering a chain-reaction collision on Oct. 21 involving four other big rigs and four smaller vehicles.
The crash killed Clarence Nelson, 76, and his wife, Lisa, 69, who were in one car, as well as Jaime Flores Garcia 54, of Upland, who died at a hospital, authorities said.
Clarence Nelson was a Fontana resident and former assistant basketball coach at Pomona High School. Their vehicle burst into flames.
Singh had turned 21 less than a week before the crash.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office had also accused Singh of driving under the influence, but a toxicology report showed he had no illicit substances in his system.
Singh, originally from India, first entered the United States in 2022, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which said Sing had applied for asylum.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer, signaling that federal authorities should be notified 48 hours before Singh is released from custody.