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Fact Check: Did Judge Shannon Faherty sentence the immigrant truck driver in fatal California crash?
Judge Shannon Faherty did preside over Singh's initial arraignment on October 24, 2025, in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court.
Earlier this week, 21-year-old Jashanpreet Singh was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison following a 2025 multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 10 in Ontario, California, that resulted in three fatalities.
Singh, 21, pleaded guilty last week to three counts of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence after prosecutors said he crashed a semi-truck into stopped traffic on Interstate 10 in October 2025. The collision involved seven vehicles and killed three people.
The US Department of Transportation alleged that California improperly upgraded Singh's commercial driver's license after a federal rule change.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized the state and argued the licensing decision contributed to the tragedy.
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Sentencing Judge clarification
Initial social media reports attributed the sentencing to Judge Shannon L. Faherty of the San Bernardino County Superior Court. However, official court records and announcements do not confirm that she presided over the sentencing hearing. Her name has not appeared in official reports regarding the July 14 sentencing.
Judge Faherty did preside over Singh's initial arraignment on October 24, 2025, in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court. At that hearing, she entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to the original charges and ordered him held without bail.
Court records clearly establish her role in the early proceedings but do not indicate she handled the subsequent guilty plea in June 2026 or the final sentencing.
For those unversed, in California superior courts, different judges may preside over arraignments versus plea and sentencing hearings.
What happened at Interstate 10?
Authorities said the fatal crash occurred after traffic slowed on westbound Interstate 10 near Ontario. Witnesses told NBC Los Angeles they heard what sounded like an explosion as Singh's semi-truck continued into stopped vehicles without braking or swerving. The impact triggered a chain-reaction crash involving multiple vehicles.
“The truck rolled and veered to the right into the embankment, and I saw the truck driver jump out because it was on fire,” a witness told the outlet.
CHP Officer Rodrigo Jimenez described the crash and said, “It was one of those crashes where there were car parts everywhere. We had a hazardous material incident. It was a very large scene.”
An elderly couple and a Upland resident perished in the fatal collision, which the US Department of Transportation blamed on the administration of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
According to an agency report, Singh's driver's license was illegally upgraded by the state in reaction to a federal statute that prohibited illegal immigrants from obtaining commercial licenses just weeks before the collision.
Duffy said, “It would have never happened if Gavin Newsom had followed our new rules. California broke the law and now three people are dead and two are hospitalized. These people deserve justice.”
