In a shocking incident in Florida's Turnpike on Saturday, a semi-truck collided with a minivan, killing three people in the minivan. The crash occurred when the semi-truck did an illegal U-turn. The semi-truck driver has been identified as a Fijian of Indian descent, Harjinder Singh. The semi-truck was travelling north with the right wheels in the right lane when the truck driver made a U-turn at an "official use only" area, according to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP).

Making a left lane on the highway, the truck trailer truck collided with a black 2015 Chrysler Town & Country minivan. The driver of the minivan did not have time to stop when the trailer was jackknifed across the highway, and the minivan was crushed under the trailer.

Photos of the minivan from the accident scene show that the van was destroyed, the roof peeled back, and debris spread down the highway. The three people inside the minivan were pronounced dead at the accident scene.

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Viral Video And Racist Backlash

A video of the crash went viral on social media and incited racist comments and assumptions based on the ethnicity of the driver. Many users were adamant that the driver was "from India", that it became ugly, public hate and a horrible display of hate speech. The driver, Singh would be publicly identified by authorities later, and was apparently the victim of racist slurs related to anti-immigrant discourse.

White House Rapid Response

The White House Rapid Response team posted on X to respond to the crash. In their post, Singh was identified as "an illegal alien". Authorities confirmed that Singh has been living illegally in the United States since 2018. He also had a California commercial driver’s license. He was arrested at the scene and charged with vehicular homicide. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer against him.

“If convicted of homicide, Singh faces prison time in Florida before being deported,” the New York Post reported, citing state and federal sources. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) has also indicated that Singh will not be released back into the community.

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