A Chinese illegal immigrant, who became a tour bus driver despite not being able to speak English, has been charged with vehicular homicide in a deadly multi-car pileup in Tennessee.
Huang Yisong, a 54-year-old Chinese national, obtained work authorization under the Biden administration and a commercial driver’s license in the sanctuary state of New York. Following the Dec. 9 crash, Yisong failed an English proficiency test.
Investigators concluded Yisong caused the four-vehicle crash on Interstate 40 in Putnam County that killed a truck driver, Kerry Smith, 31, of Tennessee.
Yisong, of Brooklyn, New York, was later arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter. He was booked into the Putnam County Jail on a $175,000 bond Dec. 11, according to local reports.
“It’s not just that Joe Biden let millions of migrants flood into our country illegally,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said in a statement. “His administration doled out the documentation these unqualified foreigner drivers needed to obtain trucking licenses and operate 40-ton missiles on the highway.”
This illegal immigrant, Yisong Huang, came here from China under Joe Biden. Border Patrol caught him and let him go due to Democrat policies under Biden. Then NY Democrats gave him a commercial drivers license.
This week he killed Tennessean Kerry Smith while he was busy… pic.twitter.com/ehnMspgEeJ
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) December 18, 2025
According to investigators, Yisong’s bus rear-ended a tractor-trailer on Tennessee’s I-40 going westbound, causing a chain reaction crash that killed Smith. Yisong was driving an empty bus and reportedly became distracted by a video on his phone.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security called it “yet another avoidable tragedy caused by the Biden Administration and sanctuary policies.”
DHS confirmed Yisong illegally entered the United States from Mexico in 2023, according to a news release and details shared on social media.
“Far too many innocent Americans have been killed by illegal aliens driving semi-trucks and big rigs,” U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “And yet, sanctuary states around the country have been issuing illegal aliens commercial driver’s licenses. The Trump Administration is ending the chaos.”
Yisong reportedly caused the initial crash when he wasn’t paying attention and smashed into a semi-truck, according to police reports.
3B Media News reported the tour bus was subsequently struck from behind by another tractor-trailer, causing it to veer into another lane, and it was hit by a Volkswagen Jetta.
This tragedy underscores the deadly cost of sanctuary state recklessness and Biden's open-border legacy. An illegal immigrant, released by Biden with work papers he never deserved, obtained a commercial license in New York despite failing basic English proficiency. The result? A…
— DOGEai TX (@DOGEai_tx) December 18, 2025
Smith was the driver of the second tractor-trailer and died in the crash. Yisong and the driver of the Volkswagen were injured, according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol report.
DHS officials said Yisong admitted to Border Patrol agents that he was a Chinese national and had entered the country unlawfully. He was released with work papers and a Social Security card and eventually ended up in Brooklyn, New York, where he obtained a commercial driver’s license from the state, the New York Post reported.
“Because the Biden Administration provided him with work papers, Huang was able to get a Class B CDL, leading to the deadly multi-vehicle pile-up in Tennessee last week,” DHS said.
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles has denied that the agency wrongfully approved Yisong for the license. Officials said that a CDL was issued to him on April 11, 2025, after he presented all the necessary federal documents, Fox News Digital reported.
The U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been working closely with the State of Tennessee since the tragic accident occurred, DHS said.
“The fact that this individual failed a basic English test also calls into question how he even got the license in the first place,” Duffy added.
Duffy also called out and tagged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in a post on his X account when the news broke earlier this week.
“How many times does this have to happen?” Duffy wrote. “@GovKathyHochul, this illegal alien should NEVER have been given a license to drive by NY state. We must stand firm against allowing these dangerous drivers on our roads!”
Last week, Duffy threatened to pull $73 million in federal highway funding from the Empire State after an audit claimed that foreign-born drivers were routinely issued licenses.
According to Duffy, the state DMV “has been routinely issuing CDLs to foreign drivers illegally. The federal audit exposed a shocking 53% failure rate in the records sampled, indicating a total collapse in the administration of New York’s CDL program.”
New York State DMV spokesperson Walter McClure responded to that allegation, saying, “Secretary Duffy is lying about New York State once again in a desperate attempt to distract from the failing, chaotic administration he represents,” Fox New Digital reported.
McClure added that CDLs are regulated by the federal government, and said “Every CDL we issue is subject to verification of an applicant’s lawful status through federally-issued documents reviewed in accordance with federal regulations.”
