A Crash That Should Never Have Happened

When I worked for a metal fab shop a few years ago, I needed to shoot video in an adjacent building. On my return, a semi-truck was stopped in our parking lot, and a very pleasant-looking man hopped out holding a delivery sheet. He was looking for the company I worked for, but wasn't sure where to drop off the steel. The man was extremely polite but knew little English, so I was able to work out what he was looking for and gesture his directions; off we both went. I didn't realize it at the time, but when I left for home later that day, there was a sign displaying a map for truckers, giving them directions for steel deliveries. The problem I realized too late?

The sign was in English.

Like most Midwestern states, Indiana relies on trucks hauling grain, steel, auto parts, and groceries, rolling on the Interstate system and every other artery that keeps the country alive. When those trucks stay in their lane, commerce silently moves, and families arrive home. Safe.

When they don't, lives end in seconds. On Feb. 3, 2026, Bekzhan Beishekeev, a 30-year-old from Kyrgyzstan, drove a 2020 Freightliner eastbound on an Indiana highway, near the Ohio border. Failing to brake, he crossed into oncoming traffic, slamming head-on into a van carrying Amish passengers, killing four people. Federal authorities later confirmed Beishekeev illegally entered the United States through the CBP One app and held a Pennsylvania commercial driver's license, and arrested him at the scene.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy didn't hedge, vowing to hold trucking firms accountable for putting unqualified drivers behind the wheel. Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) pressed the issue on the Senate floor, arguing that Hoosier families deserve more than condolences after preventable deaths.

Patterns That Stretch Beyond One State

The accident in Indiana isn't an outlier. In Washington state last December, Kamalpreet Singh, an illegal immigrant entering the country at the Arizona border, rear-ended a vehicle, igniting a fire that killed 29-year-old Robert Pearson. Singh posted a $100,000 bond while facing vehicular homicide charges.

In August of last year, three people died when Harjinder Singh tried an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike, causing his trailer to jackknife when the minivan struck.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued California and Washington, arguing those states violated federal rules by granting commercial licenses to ineligible drivers.

There are several more examples, each with different details but a unifying pattern.

Closing The Licensing Loopholes

Over-the-road trucking accounts for over 70% of freight moved in America. When a semi crosses the centerline, physics wins every time.

Large truck crash deaths climbed 64% from 2009 to 2023, culminating in 4,354 fatalities in 2023, with nearly three-quarters of the victims riding in other vehicles.

Related: When the Highway Isn’t Secure: Trucking, Licensing, and Illegal-Immigrant Drivers

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Derek Barrs finalized a rule on Feb. 11, 2026, aimed at preventing unqualified foreign drivers from securing commercial licenses. States often couldn't verify foreign driving histories, including prior DUIs or reckless driving convictions, leaving exposed gaps on American roads.

The Department of Transportation recently removed hundreds of drivers who failed English proficiency tests; fluency in English remains a federal safety requirement because drivers must be able to read road signs, communicate with law enforcement, and understand emergency instructions.

American Truckers United co-founder Harvey Beech has been warning about failures in foreign driver screening, while co-founder Shannon Everett has called for shippers to assume shared responsibility for loading freight onto trucks driven by operators who can't legally or safely meet the federal standards.

Final Thoughts

Think of this contrast: a loaded semi truck and trailer weighs up to 80,000 pounds, compared to a family's sedan. Laws are on the books to protect the smaller from the larger, the vulnerable from the powerful. When past border failures merge with licensing shortcuts, ordinary people pay the cost in hospital rooms and funerals.

Duffy's crackdown marks a shift toward enforcement rather than excuse, while names of families from Indiana and elsewhere now stand at the center of a debate that can't be brushed aside.

Highway safety isn't something abstract; it's fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters.

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