BEND, OREGON — A truck driver detained by ICE after a fatal crash that killed two newlyweds on Highway 20 in eastern Oregon pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of first-degree manslaughter. A nine-day jury trial is set for January 2027.
Rajinder Kumar, 32, entered his plea on March 30, 2026, in Deschutes County Circuit Court before Judge Wells Ashby. The judge scheduled a trial readiness hearing for January 5, 2027, and a nine-day jury trial beginning January 19, 2027. The hearing will also address whether Kumar will wear restraints during trial. Kumar faces two counts of first-degree manslaughter and three misdemeanor counts of reckless endangering. His bail was reduced from $500,000 to $250,000.
The Crash
The crash occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m. on November 24, 2025, on Highway 20 at milepost 51, about 50 miles east of Bend and nine miles east of Brothers. Kumar’s semi jackknifed, leaving the cab facing eastbound with the trailer sitting perpendicular across the highway. A westbound Subaru Outback driven by William Micah Carter, 25, of Springfield, struck the trailer. Carter and his passenger, Jennifer Lynn Lower Carter, 24, of John Day — who had recently married — died at the scene. Kumar was not injured.
Oregon State Police identified dark conditions and a lack of active emergency warning equipment as primary contributors to the crash.
Immigration Hold
The Department of Homeland Security lodged an immigration detainer for Kumar. DHS says he is a citizen of India who entered the country illegally at the Arizona border approximately three years before the crash. He was living in Fresno, California at the time of his arrest.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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