The vigil is the latest in a string of community-led responses to the crash that placed 28-year-old truck driver Harjinder Singh behind bars on vehicular homicide charges.
The Sikh and Punjabi community in New York City has come together to hold a candlelight vigil this Saturday evening to honor the three innocent lives lost in the recent Florida Turnpike crash. The vigil, to be held at 95th Avenue and 125th Street in South Richmond Hill, is intended as a solemn remembrance of the victims.
Organizers also want the families of the victims to know that the Sikh and Punjabi community shares their grief. The vigil is meant to begin a new and visible phase in the community’s pursuit of justice, fair accountability, and healing.
Ever since the ill-fated accident on August 12, grief and outrage have spread well beyond Florida, rippling through Sikh and Punjabi households across the United States as well as the trucking industry. In recent weeks, members of the community have launched an online petition calling for accountability from the driver and state authorities. The vigil, organizers say, is meant to take that call into the public square.
Japneet Singh, a Sikh activist and former New York City Council candidate, underscored the importance of Saturday’s vigil when speaking to The American Bazaar. “In times like these, it’s important to show the world who the Sikh community is,” Singh said.
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“It’s easy to get lost in the rhetoric being spewed by politicians and the media that paints all Sikhs and immigrants with one brush. But we are a people of service and righteousness and we want the families of all three victims to know that they are in our thoughts and prayers. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them during these very tough times.”
He added, “Everything is wrong in this moment. It’s wrong that this young brother thought its’ okay to make an illegal U-turn when you are driving a 18-wheeler. It’s wrong that the car that was driving did not slow down, it’s wrong that we lost three innocent lives. It’s wrong that we have politicians who are trying to use this incident to score political points.” He continued, “It’s wrong that we have racists and bigots trying to paint all immigrants as bad people. But what is the wrong part also is that Harjinder Singh is made out to be a monster. Nobody is looking at this with compassion – no body is looking at him as a young, only bread winner of his family. In this moment we must call for fair and just sentencing and this moment must not become a political feeder.”
The vigil is the latest in a string of community-led responses to the crash that placed 28-year-old truck driver Harjinder Singh behind bars on vehicular homicide charges. Earlier this week, newly released New Mexico State Police bodycam footage from a July 3 traffic stop—just weeks before the accident—shows Singh struggling to communicate in English with a state trooper.
Singh, who had earlier failed a federal English proficiency test, can be seen telling the officer in halting English that it was the first time in five years he had been issued a ticket. The officer, at times struggling to understand Singh’s broken English, issued him a fine. Singh then asked whether the ticket would appear on his record and for how long.
The footage has been shared widely and has reopened debate over whether immigrant workers with limited English proficiency should fill essential roles in industries such as trucking.
On Thursday, dozens gathered outside the St. Lucie County Jail, where Singh remains in custody, for a prayer circle. Attendees prayed for both the families of the deceased and a fair trial for the jailed driver.
Meanwhile, the Sikh advocacy organization Sikhs for Justice has pledged $100,000 in support of the victims’ families. Human rights attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel for Sikhs for Justice, also visited Singh in jail. Pannun told reporters he witnessed “sorrow and suffering” in Singh’s eyes.
According to Pannun, Singh attempted to help immediately after the crash, reaching into the victims’ minivan and holding the hand of one of the injured through a shattered window. While Pannun clarified that he is not representing Singh in the legal case, his comments highlighted the human dimensions of a tragedy otherwise reduced to headlines.
For the Sikh and Punjabi diaspora, Saturday’s vigil is as much about mourning as it is about reclaiming their narrative. At a time when immigrants and truck drivers alike face heightened scrutiny, community leaders say they want to show the world the values that guide their faith—service, righteousness, and solidarity.
By coming together publicly, they hope to honor the victims, comfort grieving families, and remind the wider American public that behind the news reports are communities bound by shared humanity.
The vigil will take place on Saturday, August 30 at 6:00 PM at Phil Scooter Rizzuto Park, 95 Avenue &125th Street, South Richmond Hill, NY 11419