An illegal immigrant from India has been indicted on multiple homicide charges after leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase in Ohio, which resulted in the death of a 17-year-old passenger and her unborn child.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, on Feb. 16, Tarsem Singh led Darke County sheriff's deputies on a high-speed chase for five miles before the pursuit ended in a deadly head-on collision.
Singh faces charges of vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter, and reckless homicide. He has since pleaded not guilty to the homicide charges, entering the plea via video during a court appearance. His bond has been set at $1 million.
Singh was driving a Land Rover Range Rover Velar at around 100 mph when a deputy clocked him speeding, which led to the high-speed chase, Dayton-based local station WDTN
reported. According to the outlet, Singh's vehicle ultimately crashed head-on with a Jeep Cherokee at the intersection of State Route 47 and Ansonia Hunchbarger Road.
The driver of the Jeep was injured but was reported to be conscious and alert.
But a passenger in Singh's vehicle—Ashlee Holmes, 17—was ejected in the crash and later pronounced dead. Holmes was pregnant at the time of her death.
Following the crash, Singh was taken to a nearby hospital before being taken into custody.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged an immigration detainer with Ohio authorities following the crash. Singh had entered the United States illegally in February 2017 through the southern border in California, and was arrested before being ordered by a judge to be released on bond.
"This is yet another tragic reminder of why illegal aliens should not be driving cars on America's roads," DHS Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public Affairs Lauren Bis said in a
press release. "A 17-year-old woman and her unborn child are now dead as a result of this illegal alien's reckless actions. We have lodged an arrest detainer with Ohio authorities to ensure this illegal alien is never released and allowed back behind the wheel to put more innocent lives at risk."
The arrest detainer in Ohio comes across a broader pattern of confrontations between ICE agents and individuals in the country illegally. In Sacramento on March 25, a Laotian national with a 2010 deportation order
rammed an ICE officer with his vehicle during a targeted traffic stop and fled on foot. That suspect, Xa Lee, 40, remains at large and carries prior convictions for vehicle theft, DUI, felony firearm possession, and other offenses, federal officials said.
"This is just the latest in a disturbing trend of vehicle attacks," Bis said in a separate
press release, referring to Lee. "We are calling on the public to report any sightings of this criminal illegal alien to ICE."
Anyone with information on Lee's whereabouts is asked to contact the ICE Tip Line at (866) 347-2423 or submit a tip through the agency's online form, according to DHS.
DHS officials have pointed to a string of similar vehicle-based assaults on federal agents in recent months as immigration enforcement operations have increased across the country. Incidents involving illegal immigrants ramming law enforcement vehicles were reported in Maryland, Minnesota, Texas, and South Los Angeles in the months before the Sacramento attack.
