Senator Banks on Latest Fatal Crash Caused by an Illegal on Indiana Roads: “This is a National Crisis”

West Lafayette, IN, - Today, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) released a statement on the February 18^th fatal crash that killed 64-year-old Terry Schultz at the intersection of U.S. 36 and County Road 525 East in Hendricks County, Indiana.

Senator Jim Banks: "Another life taken on Indiana roads by a semitruck driver who never should have been here or behind the wheel in the first place.

How many times are we going to see this same story happen again? It feels like every single week there is another family planning a funeral because illegals who can't read our road signs and don't follow our laws are allowed on our highways.

This is not bad luck. This is not just another accident. This is a national crisis! I am sick of it.

We need real accountability and a major overhaul. I'm calling on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to investigate chameleon carrier networks in Indiana and will be introducing legislation to get unsafe, illegal drivers off our roads before another life is lost and another family gets destroyed."

Fox News is reporting that the semitruck driver who ran a red light and caused yesterday's fatal crash is an illegal alien from India who crossed the southern border illegally in 2018. He was issued a non-domiciled commercial driver's license in Indiana in May of 2025 and is currently in ICE custody.

Last week, Senator Banks launched the TruckSafe Tipline for truckers and those who work in the trucking industry to share concerns about carriers employing or contracting with drivers who are not legally in the United States, who are not authorized to drive a truck, or who cannot meet required English-language safety standards.

The TruckSafe Tipline can be found here.

Reports submitted to the TruckSafe Tipline will be reviewed and shared with the U.S. Department of Transportation and its Office of Inspector General to help protect roadway safety and ensure a fair, lawful trucking industry.

Background:

According to a news release from the Hendricks County Sheriff's Office, a Freightliner semi-truck with a trailer was reportedly traveling eastbound on U.S. 36 when it allegedly ran the red light at the intersection.

Earlier this month, a Kyrgyzstani national who crossed the southern border illegally in December 2023 and was let into the U.S. by the Biden administration by using the CBP One cell phone app killed four Indiana men after swerving into oncoming traffic on State Road 67 in Jay County. The victims of the accident include a 50-year-old father, his two sons, ages 19 and 25, and one other person.

Over the weekend, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said AJ Partners, the carrier that employed the illegal alien involved in the Jay County crash has been removed from service and the school that helped the driver obtain a licenses has been shut down.

This was not the first fatal accident caused by an illegal truck driver on Indiana's roads. In November 2025, a Georgian national who entered the country illegally during the Biden Administration in 2022 and was granted a commercial driver's license by New York State caused a crash that killed Indiana National Guardsman Terry Frye. When the authorities tried to communicate with the foreign driver at the scene, they discovered that the driver could not speak English and required a translator, according to the Boone County Sheriff's Office.

In October 2025, an illegal alien from Serbia and Montenegro driving a semi-truck on U.S. Highway 20 in Portage, Indiana caused a multi-car accident that killed a 54-year-old. Despite being in the United States illegally since 2011, the driver owned two trucking companies that received over $36,000 in COVID-19 relief funding.

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