Illegal U-Turn Kills Three in Florida Turnpike Crash
Semi-truck's illegal U-turn causes fatal collision; driver arrested on vehicular homicide charges.
- Three people were killed in a collision on Florida’s Turnpike.
- The crash was caused by a semi-truck making an illegal U-turn.
- The victims were a 30-year-old man, a 37-year-old woman, and a 54-year-old man.
GG News Bureau
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, 18th Aug: Three people were killed on Florida’s Turnpike on Saturday after a semi-truck made an illegal U-turn, causing a collision in St. Lucie County. The incident involved a semi-truck and trailer that jackknifed, landing on top of a 2015 Chrysler Town & Country passenger van in the northbound lanes near the 170-mile marker.
The semi-truck, traveling in the right lane of the northbound Turnpike, attempted an illegal U-turn at an “Official Use Only” bend. St. Lucie Fire Rescue responded to the scene, but three people in the passenger van were pronounced dead. The victims were identified as a 30-year-old man from Florida City, a 37-year-old woman from Pompano Beach, and a 54-year-old man from Miami.
The driver of the semi-truck, identified as Harjinder Singh, was arrested in California by U.S. Marshals on a warrant for three counts of vehicular homicide. According to officials, Mr. Singh had crossed the California border illegally in September 2018 and was released on a $5,000 immigration bond in January 2019 after claiming fear of deportation. He has remained in immigration proceedings since then.
The Florida Highway Patrol reported that the crash occurred around 3 pm on Monday. The minivan, in the inside lane, was unable to avoid the semi-truck as it crossed all northbound lanes to make the U-turn. The minivan became jammed beneath the trailer. The crash completely halted traffic, shutting down all northbound lanes for several hours as authorities investigated the scene and removed the wreckage.
