Another illegal immigrant truck driver who severely injured a 5-year-old child in a 2024 crash remained free for more than a year in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California. The same state gave him a commercial driver’s license.
Partap Singh, an illegal alien from India, was arrested Aug. 29 in Fresno, California, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.
Singh was released into the country by the Biden Administration and allowed to obtain a CDL as an illegal immigrant. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Department of Motor Vehicle’s issued him a commercial driver’s license.
On June 20, 2024, Singh caused a multi-car pileup while driving a commercial 18-wheeler in the sanctuary state of California. Several victims sustained injuries, including 5-year-old Dalilah Coleman who was airlifted from the scene.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently shared Dalilah’s story after her parents’ spoke out about the accident and their quest for justice.
“Dalilah Coleman’s life was forever changed when an illegal alien driving an 18-wheeler slammed into her and her family,” DHS shared on X. “The crash resulted in her inability to walk, talk, eat orally, or attend kindergarten as planned.”
Dalilah’s parents, Marcus Coleman and Ileana Krause, also spoke to Fox News about their daughter’s injuries and the arrest of Singh.
He had just turned 20 around the time of the accident, and California allows people to get a Class A CDL at 18 years old if you drive in the state, Coleman said. The state never pursued any charges against him for the fiery crash.
“Me, as a truck driver myself since 2017, I have never been on board with an 18-year-old having a commercial driver’s license for reasons like this right here,” Coleman said. “This is a truck driver that drives all over the United States. This can happen anywhere there is a road.”
Coleman tried contacting Newsom’s office multiple times about the accident.
“We never received a call back. We never received ‘the governor’s going to look into this,’” Coleman said. “I sent a letter to outside news agencies and they didn’t want to pick this up.”
The accident left Dalilah with critical, life-altering injuries and extensive medical bills. She has a traumatic brain injury, needs constant care and has only spoken a few words since the accident, Ileana Krause told Fox.
Dalilah experienced a broken femur, skull fractures, and was in a coma for three weeks. While in the hospital, she had a craniectomy and was without half of her skull for four months.
“She didn’t deserve this,” Ileana said. “She was a very sweet girl, and she still is. You can see that light of hers still shining through, but we miss who she was.”
Doctors have since diagnosed her with diplegic cerebral palsy and global developmental delay. She continues her recovery with ongoing physical, speech and occupational therapy and will need life-long therapy.
Ileana has two younger children who are showing more developmental progress than Dalilah. “She needs a lot of care and needs a wheelchair,” she said. “I don’t have the strength to lift up a wheelchair on my own. It’s hard. This is not how we imagined life.”
Coleman said there was road construction on the highway and several vehicles were at a complete stop. Singh’s semi-truck failed to stop, smashed the vehicle Dalilah was in first, and proceeded to strike four other vehicles.
The California Highway Patrol Traffic Crash Report states that Singh drove at an unsafe speed and failed to stop for traffic and a construction zone, according to a DHS news release. Several other individuals were also transported to hospitals for injuries.
San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department arrived and took over the investigation. The case was referred to the district attorney’s office, DHS said, but nothing ever happened.
Singh illegally crossed the southern border in October 2022. ICE arrested him pursuant to a warrant for his arrest.
Last month, ICE lodged an arrest detainer for another criminal illegal alien—Harjinder Singh—following his arrest for three counts of vehicular homicide while driving a semi-truck in Florida. He first obtained a CDL in Washington and then in California.
Secretary Kristi Noem also shared her sympathy for Dalilah and expressed concern over more of Newsom’s failed policies that support illegals over Californians.
“Dalilah Coleman’s tragedy was entirely preventable,” Noem posted on social media. “This is sadly another example of Gavin Newsom’s California DMV issuing an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License. How many more innocent people must become victims before @GavinNewsom stops playing games with American lives?”
