Truck driver charged in Oregon crash returned to state custody

ICE returned a commercial truck driver to Oregon state custody on Monday to face felony manslaughter charges.

Rajinder Kumar, 32, was transferred from federal processing to Deschutes County authorities to stand trial for the November 2025 crash that killed two young newlyweds.

The move concludes a jurisdictional dispute that began when local corrections officials ignored a federal immigration detainer in April.

Kumar entered the United States without authorization near Lukeville, Arizona, on November 28, 2022.

Border Patrol agents apprehended him at the border, but federal officials released him into the country while removal proceedings were pending.

During that time, Kumar received federal work authorization and obtained a commercial driver's license from the State of California.

The fatal accident occurred on November 24, 2025, when Kumar allegedly jackknifed his tractor-trailer across U.S. Highway 20.

The semi blocked both lanes of traffic, causing a Subaru Outback driven by William Micah Carter, 25, to strike the vehicle.

Carter and his wife, Jennifer Lynn Lower, 24, died at the scene. The couple had been married for 16 days.

A Deschutes County grand jury indicted Kumar on two counts of first-degree manslaughter and three counts of recklessly endangering another person.

Kumar pleaded not guilty in state court, but a conflict arose between federal and local agencies regarding his release from custody.

ICE lodged an immigration detainer on April 2, requesting that the county jail notify federal agents before releasing the driver. County officials declined to honor the request and released Kumar into the community under state sanctuary policies. ICE agents in Seattle located and arrested Kumar on April 22. He was detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, while federal removal proceedings advanced. Acting Field Office Director Julio Hernandez said the transfer ensures the driver answers for the charges before deportation orders are executed. DHS officials confirmed that federal deportation proceedings are paused while the state criminal trial proceeds in Deschutes County Circuit Court.