DeSantis accuses Newsom of putting Americans at risk with his "sanctuary policies"

Ron DeSantis took aim at Gavin Newsom over the case of Harjinder Singh, an Indian citizen and California licensee who staged an accident that killed three people in Florida. The Republican governor spoke on Fox News about the case and criticized the California Democrat for his "sanctuary policies."

The case took place last August 12, on the Florida Turnpike, near Fort Pierce. There, Singh, who was driving a truck, illegally attempted to make a U-turn, blocking the lanes completely. This caused a fatal collision with a minivan, which ended up under the truck's trailer. Two of the three occupants died on the spot, and the third subsequently passed away in the hospital

As reported by The New York Post, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration tested the driver's English language proficiency. Singh only answered two of the twelve questions correctly and could only identify one of the four traffic signs he was shown. Despite these results, he holds two commercial driver's licenses, one from the state of Washington and one from California. The Department of Transportation released a statement in which they noted that the driver "did not speak English."

According to Florida authorities, Singh illegally entered the United States in 2018 through the southern border and currently has no legal immigration status. He is expected to be deported once his state charges are resolved.

DeSantis v. Newsom: "Why won't he do his job and protect people?"

In this context, DeSantis spoke with Jesse Watters on Fox News. The Florida governor took specific aim at Newsom because Singh had a California business license.

"We had an issue where you had an illegal alien truck driver that got a commercial driver's license in the state of California, employed by a California company, who killed three people in Florida. This guy didn't even speak English. We're bringing him up on charges. He's going to face a lot. And I can announce, Jesse, that I said initially the company needs to be held accountable, and we've been working with the federal government, and they are pulling that company's license to do business because you cannot employ somebody who cannot read the road signs for you," Governor DeSantis explained.

"Why is he spending all this time, you know, trying to be fresh with President Trump? Why doesn't he do his job and protect the people? And as much as we somehow poke fun at California, oftentimes because of all the problems that the liberal policies have allowed that are spilling over into the rest of the country, and Florida is a tragic example with three of our fellow citizens who are dead because of his sanctuary policies," he continued.