Agencies New York

An Indian-origin driver who crashed his semi-truck killing three people in California last month was not driving while intoxicated, contrary to initial reports, but the case remains a grossly negligent homicide, US authorities have said.

Jashanpreet Singh, 21, of Yuba City was arrested on October 21 under suspicion of ‘driving under the influence’ (DUI) and was charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence as well as DUI causing injury in the multi-vehicle crash. Three people were killed and several others seriously injured in the crash in Ontario, California.

An updated complaint, filed last week, said that toxicology reports confirmed that none of the substances tested were present in Singh’s blood at the time the test was rendered. “However, the case remains a grossly negligent homicide,” the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said. The updated complaint includes the three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, as well as the new charge of ‘reckless driving on a highway causing a specified injury’.

Eyewitness and dashcam footage showed Singh travelling at a high speed into stopped traffic. “This is a heinous tragedy that took three lives and severely injured others. Frankly, it was easily avoidable if the defendant was not driving in a grossly negligent manner and impaired. Had the rule of law been followed by State and Federal officials, the defendant should have never been in California at all,” San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson had said.