The driver involved in a tragic multi-vehicle accident in Indiana, which resulted in the deaths of four individuals, is now under the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A detainer has been issued against him following the incident.
The devastating crash took place on Tuesday around 4 p.m. at the intersection of State Road 67 and County Road 550 East in Jay County. According to Indiana State Police, a semi-truck collided with a van, leading to the fatalities. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Fox News that the driver, Bekzhan Beishekeev, is a national from Kyrgyzstan. He entered the United States through the CBP One mobile app on December 19, 2024, at the Nogales, Arizona port of entry, and was subsequently allowed entry via parole by the Biden administration.
Reports indicate that the 30-year-old Beishekeev was traveling along SR 67 in Indiana when he failed to stop for a slowing semi-truck. Instead, he swerved into the opposite lane, directly hitting a van and resulting in the deaths of four people, some of whom were reportedly from the Amish community.
“The investigation reveals that a 2019 International semi-tractor trailer, operated by 44-year-old Gert Pretorius from Geneva, was heading east on State Road 67 near County Road 550 East and slowed for traffic,” detailed Indiana State Police. “A 2022 Freightliner semi-tractor trailer, driven by Bekzhan Beishekeev, aged 30, from Philadelphia, PA, also traveling east, did not stop, swerving into the westbound lane and colliding with a 2011 Chevrolet van driven by 55-year-old Donald Stipp from Portland.”
In the aftermath of the accident, Bekzhan Beishekeev was taken into ICE custody on February 3, 2026, in Jay County, Indiana, close to the Ohio border, as reported by the Jay County Sheriff’s Department.
The Indiana State Police, referencing information from the Jay County Coroner’s Office, identified the four victims as Henry Eicher, 50, Menno Eicher, 25, Paul Eicher, 19, and Simon Girod, 23, all residents of Bryant, Indiana. Their tragic loss has sent ripples through the local community.
“ICE issued an immigration detainer against Beishekeev with the Jay County Jail on Feb. 4. And, because the state of Indiana cooperates with ICE, we were able to take him into custody on the morning of February 5,” DHS said in a statement. “He will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.”
“Not only was Bekzhan Beishekeev released into our country by the Biden administration using the CBP One app, but he was also given a commercial driver’s license by Governor Shapiro’s Pennsylvania. These decisions have had deadly consequences and led to the death of four innocent people in Indiana on Tuesday,” added DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. “It is incredibly dangerous for illegal aliens, who often don’t know our traffic laws or even English, to be operating semi-trucks on America’s roads. These sanctuary governors must stop giving illegal aliens commercial driver’s licenses before another American gets killed.”
The scene of the crash on Tuesday, Feb. 3, in Jay County, Ind. (Fox News)
State Police also said, “The Indiana State Police Critical Incident Reconstruction Team is working with the Indiana State Police Commercial Vehicle Division, Jay County Sheriff’s Department, and Jay County Coroner’s Office to complete this investigation.”
A GoFundMe page purportedly set up by a family member of Stipp’s said he is in stable condition and underwent surgery for a broken arm.
The area in Jay County, Ind., where the crash happened on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, according to Indiana State Police. (Google Maps)
The page at one point described Stipp as “still unconscious” at a hospital.
