The father of Dalilah Coleman, a little girl who suffered life-altering injuries in a multi-vehicle pileup caused by an illegal-immigrant truck driver, has alleged that California Gov. Gavin Newsom ignored the family’s desperate calls for help. The tragedy was caused by Partap Singh, an illegal immigrant from India.
Who is Dalilah Coleman?
Dalilah, now 7, was left nonverbal after her family vehicle was struck in a 2024 wreck by an 18-wheeler driven by Singh. She is now relearning how to walk, according to the New York Post.
Singh had been given a commercial driver’s license by the state despite his immigration status, the outlet reported. The crash occurred while he was speeding through a construction zone and failed to stop his truck for traffic, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“According to the Dalilah’s father, the crash resulted in her inability to walk, talk, eat orally, or attend kindergarten as planned. She was in a coma for three weeks and required six months of hospital treatment before her family could bring her home. While in the hospital, she had a craniectomy and was without half of her skull for four months,” the DHS said, adding that she “experienced a broken femur, skull fractures, and has since been diagnosed with diplegic cerebral palsy, global developmental delay, and will need life-long therapy.”
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{{/usCountry}}“Dalilah Coleman’s life was forever changed when an illegal alien driving an 18-wheeler slammed into her and her family. This tragedy was entirely preventable,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “This is sadly another example of Gavin Newsom’s California Department of Motor Vehicles issuing an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License. How many more innocent people must become victims before Gavin Newsom stops playing games with American lives? DHS is working around the clock to remove dangerous aliens—like Singh—who have no right to be in the U.S.”
Dalilah Coleman’s father accuses Gavin Newsom of stonewalling the family’s calls for help
“When Dalilah’s accident first happened, I reached out to the governor’s office, via phone as well as email. I received nothing back at all,” Marcus Coleman, the child’s father, said on Fox News’ The Will Cain Show.
Singh, who entered the country illegally through the southern border in October 2022, was released by the Biden administration. He was again arrested by ICE in August 2025 to face deportation proceedings under the Trump administration.
Marcus said that during their tough times, their pleas for government assistance to help cover Dalilah’s treatments fell on deaf ears.
“It’s just kind of left up to us to sit there and take care of what we need to take care of,” Coleman said, adding that the family was also denied Social Security benefits.
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“I’m here … trying to make ends meet to satisfy her needs. And even then, we’re still falling short and there’s nobody there to help us with it,” he added.
Marcus, who is a truck driver himself, expressed his disappointment with California’s lax regulations around giving foreign-born truck drivers commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). He called the practice “gross negligence,” and accused California's leadership, including Newsom, of putting politics ahead of safety.
“I think they’re trying to do what’s going to favor them in the long run, no matter how many people it hurts,” he said.
Newsom previously accused Donald Trump and Noem of politicizing the tragedy. “It’s deeply disappointed to see Secretary Noem politicized such a horrific tragedy,” Newsom wrote on social media in response to Noem calling out California’s DMV for issuing a CDL to an illegal immigrant.
“The FEDERAL government issued the driver a federal work permit (and RENEWED IT AFTER THE ACCIDENT), making him eligible for a driver’s license — not only in California, BUT IN ANY STATE,” Newsom added. “Madam Secretary, please stop peddling false and misleading information.”