Four Dead in Nine Days: Illegal-Immigrant Truck Drivers and the Rising Danger on U.S. Highways

In a troubling spate of highway incidents, two commercial semi-truck crashes involving undocumented drivers occurred within nine days — together resulting in the deaths of five individuals and underscoring significant legal and public-safety concerns.

Incident One – Indiana

On October 15, a 41-year-old man from Serbia and Montenegro who entered the U.S. legally but overstayed his visa in 2011, was driving a semi-truck on U.S. Highway 20 when he diverted into oncoming traffic to avoid a slowdown. His action caused a collision with a Subaru Crosstrek, killing the driver, Jeffrey Eberly. The driver did not hold a valid commercial driver’s license (CDL); instead, he used a suspended license belonging to a family member. He has since been charged with felony reckless homicide and felony criminal recklessness resulting in death. Immigration authorities have placed a detainer on him.
Beyond this crash, he previously faced arrest in 2018 for resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.

Incident Two – California

Six days later, on the 10 Freeway near Ontario, California, a second crash involved an eight-vehicle pileup triggered by a 21-year-old undocumented Indian national driving a big rig. The crash claimed the lives of four people. The driver is suspected of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. U.S. Border Patrol records show he entered the country in March 2022 and was released under policies that defer detention while awaiting immigration hearings.

Legal & Public-Safety Implications

These tragedies raise many red flags for law firms, insurers, and victims of highway accidents:

• The use of improperly licensed commercial drivers poses a serious liability risk.
• The involvement of undocumented drivers complicates litigation, insurance and immigration status issues.
• The intersection of immigration policy and roadway safety is becoming increasingly visible in crash-related lawsuits.
• Law firms representing victims must navigate not only tort claims (such as wrongful death, negligence) but also potential immigration-law entanglements.
• Insurers and trucking companies may face greater exposure if they neglected to verify driver credentials, immigration status or compliance with CDL regulations.

How Avian Law Group Can Help

At Avian Law Group, we assist clients who have been injured or lost loved ones due to negligent big-rig accidents, including cases complicated by undocumented-driver involvement. Our services include:

• Investigating driver credentials, employer responsibility, and compliance with federal and state trucking safety regulations.
• Coordinating with immigration-law specialists when a driver’s undocumented status is relevant to liability or settlement negotiations.
• Helping families pursue wrongful-death or personal-injury claims against trucking firms, insurers, and other responsible parties.
• Advising on interactions with law-enforcement and immigration authorities that may impact your legal recourse.

Highway safety depends not just on driver skill but on verification of licensing, training, compliance and accountability. When failure in any of these areas results in tragedy, you need a law firm ready to investigate every angle and pursue justice on your behalf.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured or killed in a trucking crash, reach out to our team for a free consultation. We offer experienced representation in complex cases involving commercial-vehicle negligence and related immigration issues.