Twenty-four years old. That’s how young Manvir Singh was when, according to California authorities, he made a series of decisions on a Tuesday afternoon that ended two lives and will now define his own. What happened on Highway 99 near Lodi on that afternoon is the kind of story that raises a lot of questions — and right now, the biggest one is: why did he allegedly try to leave?
The crash happened at around 12:20 p.m., on the northbound stretch of Highway 99 near Harney Lane in Lodi. Investigators say Singh’s semi-truck skidded off the road, hit a guardrail, and crashed into three other vehicles. That’s four cars caught up in the collision. When the dust settled, two people were dead. The scene was described as serious enough to shut down all northbound lanes for the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening.
Singh was behind the wheel of a massive commercial vehicle — the kind of rig that, when things go wrong, they go really wrong. The California Highway Patrol responded to the scene and began piecing together exactly what happened. What they found, according to the charges filed against Singh, pointed to gross negligence. That’s a specific legal term, and it matters. It’s not the same as saying he made a simple mistake. It means investigators believe his conduct behind the wheel went far beyond ordinary carelessness.
What reportedly happened next is what turned this from a tragic accident into a criminal case that carries serious weight. Authorities allege that Singh attempted to flee the scene after the crash. Left. With two people dead. With emergency crews on the way. With families who would soon be getting the worst phone call of their lives. Whether it was panic, fear, or something else entirely — investigators say he tried to walk away from all of it.
He didn’t get far. Singh was located and taken into custody later that same Tuesday. By 6:35 p.m., he was sitting in the San Joaquin County Jail, booked on felony charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit-and-run resulting in death. Two charges. Two people dead. The symmetry is hard to ignore.
Bail was set at $185,000. His court appearance is scheduled for Thursday. The identities of the two victims are still being withheld as authorities work to notify their next of kin — a reminder that behind every court filing and every arrest record, there are real people whose families haven’t even had time to grieve yet.
Singh is young. His whole life is ahead of him — except now it looks very different than it did Monday. The investigation is still ongoing, and the full truth of what happened on that highway is still being pieced together. But the families waiting for answers deserve every bit of it. And the justice system, slow as it sometimes moves, is now in motion.
