By Dan Spalding
News Now WARSAW
FULTON COUNTY – The semi driver accused of causing a crash that killed four people earlier this week in Jay County was handed over Thursday to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Authorities say 30-year-old Bekzhan Beishekeev, who resides in Pennsylvania, swerved into the opposing lanes of traffic on SR 67 to avoid slowed traffic ahead and struck a van on Tuesday, killing four people.
According to the Jay County Sheriff’s Office, Beishekeev was arrested through a bench warrant, meaning that his charges weren’t related to the crash. A bench warrant is used for individuals who fail to comply with certain court-ordered measures, usually in another county or state.
Beishekeev was then picked up by Indiana State Police on an immigration warrant on Wednesday and was turned over to federal authorities Thursday morning. Beishekeev, who is from Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, was then taken into custody by ICE.
As of Thursday evening, he was being held in the Fulton County Jail, where ICE is holding detainees.
The US Department of Homeland Security issued a news release on the case.
DHS confirmed that Beishekeev entered the U.S. using the Biden administration’s CBP One app. He was then issued a commercial driver’s license in Pennsylvania.
Beishekeev will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings, DHS said Thursday.
DHS said the case is the latest in a “disturbing pattern” of commercial drivers who are in the country illegally, “directly threatening public safety and resulting in senseless loss of life.”
In October, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem reported there were more than 140 truck drivers arrested in Indiana during Operation Midway Blitz, which targeted people with illegal status. DHS specifically named three instances in the last few months, one involving Akhror Bozorov, who was arrested by ICE in November. He was wanted in his home country of Uzbekistan for belonging to a terrorist organization.
