U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement transferred Rajinder Kumar to Oregon state custody to face prosecution over a fatal crash that killed a newly married couple. The 32-year-old Indian national was returned to the Deschutes County Jail on October 15, according to Central Oregon Daily News.
ICE announced the transfer in a post on X on October 18, 2026. The Oregon indictment charges Kumar with two counts of first-degree manslaughter and three counts of recklessly endangering another person. The case remains pending in state court.
The charges stem from a November 2025 collision. The allegations have not been established at trial.
ICE ERO Seattle acting Field Office Director Julio S. Hernandez said the agency worked with law-enforcement partners to return Kumar to state custody.
“Two Americans lost their lives, and their families deserve accountability. ICE worked closely with law-enforcement partners to ensure Kumar is returned to state custody to answer for the serious charges against him.”
The crash killed a couple returning from their honeymoon
The crash occurred on November 24, 2025, near milepost 51 on Highway 20 in Deschutes County. Oregon State Police said Kumar’s Freightliner tractor-trailer had jackknifed and blocked both lanes when a Subaru Outback struck it.
Subaru driver William Micah Carter, 25, and passenger Jennifer Lynn Lower, 24, died at the scene. The couple had married 16 days earlier and were returning from their honeymoon.
State police identified a lack of emergency warning equipment as a likely contributing factor. Authorities have not publicly established why the truck jackknifed.
The three reckless-endangerment counts concern Colton and Shelby Burkhart, as well as a third person named in court records only by their initials. Kumar initially faced criminally negligent homicide and reckless-endangerment charges. Prosecutors later brought the manslaughter counts.
ICE arrested Kumar after his release from county custody
After the indictment, ICE lodged an immigration detainer with the county jail. The agency said Deschutes County released Kumar in April 2026 without honoring that detainer.
Online court records show Kumar posted bail on April 2 and was released under a condition requiring him to wear a GPS ankle monitor. He was taken to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma later that month.
On April 22, Kumar’s case manager reported a “strap tamper alert” and said they could not reach him to confirm the monitor remained attached. A motion to revoke his release was filed the same day.
Immigration agents arrested Kumar on April 22, according to a Department of Homeland Security press release. The release did not explain how agents located him. Attorney Andrew Ince said he believed Kumar remained at the detention center after speaking with its officials, although Kumar’s name no longer appeared in online detention records.
A $1 million warrant followed a missed court hearing
Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge Wells Ashby issued a $1 million warrant on October 1, 2026, after Kumar failed to appear at a hearing in Bend. Ince confirmed the warrant and said Ashby acknowledged that Kumar’s absence was not voluntary.
“The federal government effectuated his removal from Oregon,” Ashby said. “There's no indication he willfully violated.”
Kumar’s release conditions included staying in Oregon and wearing an electronic monitoring device. Ince said he asked the court whether issuing the warrant could affect Kumar’s return to the county, but the court did not answer that question.
Kumar is being held without bail. A pretrial release hearing is set for October 23, and the trial is scheduled for January 2027.
ICE will take up the immigration case after the state trial
U.S. Border Patrol apprehended Kumar near Lukeville, Arizona, on November 28, 2022, after he crossed from Mexico. ICE said he entered the United States illegally under the Biden administration and was placed in removal proceedings. The agency also said a pending application does not confer legal status in the United States.
ICE said it will pursue Kumar’s immigration case after the state criminal proceedings conclude. His deportation proceedings will remain on hold until the Oregon trial ends.
Hernandez’s statement said the agency would continue using lawful tools to protect the public and support victims’ families. ICE also described the case as part of a broader series of incidents involving foreign nationals operating commercial vehicles in the United States, and linked the agency’s public-safety priorities to President Trump and Secretary Mullin.
The state trial is set for January 2027. ICE’s statement says it will address the immigration case after the criminal proceedings conclude.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
