The detention occurred on the morning of February 5, and this individual will remain in custody until all necessary immigration procedures are completed.
The detained suspect. Photo from the ICE website.
The detained suspect. Photo from the ICE website.
The traffic incident occurred on February 3 at approximately 4:00 PM on State Route 67. According to law enforcement, the truck driver failed to brake in time before colliding with a vehicle in front, veered into oncoming traffic, and crashed into a minibus carrying up to 15 passengers. As a result of the accident, four people died.
The detained suspect. Photo from the ICE website.
The investigation into the incident is being conducted by the Indiana State Police in conjunction with the Jay County Sheriff's Office.
The detention resulted from an ICE request on February 4, after which the Kyrgyz citizen was handed over to federal authorities with the assistance of local law enforcement.
According to ICE, this individual had previously entered the U.S. "without proper grounds" and obtained a commercial driver's license in Pennsylvania.
Trisha McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, noted that the driver's admission into the country and the issuance of a license "led to the deaths of four innocent people."
The immigration service also mentioned other cases of detaining commercial drivers without legal immigration status, who may pose a threat to public safety. These include the arrest of a citizen of Uzbekistan, wanted in his home country on charges related to terrorist activities, as well as the detention of truck drivers during the Midway Blitz operation in Indiana. Additionally, a request was previously made to detain a driver who was arrested in Florida on charges of involuntary manslaughter in three cases related to traffic accidents.
