Who is Judge Shannon Faherty? California jurist criticized for lenient sentence for immigrant truck driver who killed 3 people
California Superior Court Judge Shannon Faherty sentenced Jashanpreet Singh, an illegal immigrant from India, to four years and eight months in prison for a 2025 car crash on Interstate 10 in Ontario that killed three people. The sentence sparked widespread discussion online, criticizing Faherty’s lenient sentence in the case.
Singer, 21, pleaded guilty last week to three felony counts of gross negligence vehicular manslaughter after prosecutors said he crashed a semi-truck into a traffic jam on Interstate 10 in October 2025. The collision involved seven vehicles and resulted in three deaths.
The U.S. Department of Transportation alleges that California improperly upgraded Singer’s commercial driver’s license after a change in federal rules. Transport Minister Sean Duffy criticized the state and said the licensing decision led to the tragedy.
Who is Judge Shannon Faherty?
Shannon Faherty has served as a San Bernardino County Superior Court judge since April 2020, according to Ballotpedia and official California court records.
Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed her to fill the newly created judicial position. She later retained her seat after running unopposed in the 2022 election. Her current term is expected to end in January 2029.
Before being appointed to the bench, Faherty was a prosecutor in the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office. She handled criminal cases before being promoted to the High Court. According to the California Governor’s website, Faherty graduated from Southwestern Law School with a Juris Doctor degree.
In California plea cases, judges typically follow the agreed-upon sentence after reviewing probation reports, victim impact statements (where family members speak), acceptance of responsibility through the plea, and the statutory limits for gross negligent homicide.
On July 14, Faherty sentenced Singh to four years and eight months in prison for the accident that killed three people. Online users described the verdict as a “slap in the face”.
As an undocumented immigrant, Singer also faced deportation after serving his sentence.
What happened to Interstate 10?
Authorities said the fatal crash occurred after traffic slowed on westbound Interstate 10 near Ontario. Witnesses told NBC Los Angeles they heard an explosion as Singer’s semi-truck continued toward the stopped vehicle without braking or steering. The impact triggered a chain reaction crash involving multiple vehicles.
“The truck rolled over and veered to the right onto the embankment and I saw the driver of the truck jump out because it was on fire,” a witness told the outlet.
CHP Officer Rodrigo Jimenez described the incident, saying: “It was one of those accidents where there were car parts everywhere. We had a hazardous materials incident. It was pretty big.”
An elderly couple and a Highland resident were killed in a fatal collision that the U.S. Department of Transportation blames on the California governor’s administration Gavin Newsom.
According to an agency report, Singer’s driver’s license was illegally upgraded by the state to address federal regulations that barred illegal immigrants from obtaining commercial licenses in the weeks before the collision.
“Had Gavin Newsom followed our new rules, this would not have happened,” Duffy said. “California violated the law and now three people are dead and two are hospitalized. These people deserve justice.”
