Corporate broadcast and cable news programs failed to cover the arrest and extradition of an illegal immigrant involved in a deadly Aug. 12 motor vehicle accident that killed three people on the Florida Turnpike, a Daily Caller News Foundation review found.
None of the broadcast networks’ national morning or evening news programs mentioned the accident from Aug. 15 to 8:00 p.m. EDT Thursday, a keyword search of Grabien News data determined. CNN and MSNBC also failed to mention the fatal wreck, which was covered by multiple local outlets during that timeframe.
An illegal immigrant from India, Harjinder Singh, was arrested in California for three counts of vehicular homicide and extradited to Florida. Singh is accused of trying to make an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike when a Chrysler Town and Country minivan crashed into the tractor-trailer he was driving, according to local media coverage.
Today, I personally escorted the thug who took the lives of three Floridians. Harjinder Singh should never have been in this country, and he never should have been granted a CDL by California. Governor @GavinNewsom‘s reckless policies put communities at risk, and Florida won’t… pic.twitter.com/KvbVGRLfcJ
— Jay Collins (@JayCollinsFL) August 21, 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he would pause visas for commercial truck drivers after it was reported that Singh, who entered the United States via Mexico in 2018, failed an English proficiency exam given by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and could not identify three out of four road signs during the Aug. 14 assessment.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced the FMCSA would investigate the Aug.12 crash, revealing that Washington and California had issued Singh a commercial driver’s license (CDL), with Washington’s being a type that Singh was ineligible for.
While the term “accident” was mentioned a total of 156 times on CNN and MSNBC, many of those references were in commercials airing during their news program, notably for Carfax, which provides a history of used vehicles, including whether they have been involved in accidents. Of the 26 times the term “accident” appeared on broadcast networks during morning and evening news programs, eight instances were from commercials for Progressive automobile insurance.
The DCNF also conducted searches for the word “crash” to see if the incident was mentioned by corporate broadcast or cable news outlets. Of the 99 times the term “crash” came up on broadcast media, most involved either discussion of high waves generated by Hurricane Erin, incidents involving aircraft or other motor vehicle accidents during traffic reports by local affiliates.
On CNN and MSNBC, the term “crash” was used 101 times, 16 of which were in the context of Hurricane Erin, while at least 12 instances involved aircraft. MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” did find time to mention a minor accident involving a National Guard vehicle assisting in a crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., on two occasions, but the fatal Florida wreck was not discussed.
ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, MSNBC and CNN did not respond to requests for comment from the DCNF.
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