PORTAGE, Indiana — The illegal immigrant accused of causing a fatal multi-vehicle crash in Indiana earlier this month owned two trucking companies that collectively received more than $35,000 in federal COVID-19 relief loans before the incident, according to public records.

Authorities identified the driver as 41-year-old Borko Stankovic, an illegal immigrant from Serbia, who has been in the U.S. unlawfully since his nonimmigrant visa expired in February 2011. On Oct. 15, Stankovic was driving a semi-truck westbound on U.S. Highway 20 when traffic slowed near Douglas Drive. Police said he failed to stop, attempted an evasive left turn, and crossed into oncoming traffic — striking a Subaru Crosstrek and then a Ram Sprinter.

According to Fox News Digital, 54-year-old Jeffrey Eberly, the driver of the Subaru, was pronounced dead at the scene. The semi jackknifed and pushed the Sprinter into a roadside sign. Stankovic, who did not have a valid commercial driver’s license, allegedly used a suspended Illinois CDL belonging to a family member.

Public loan data shows Stankovic’s businesses — Eclipse Trucking Inc. and ESD Team Inc. — received a combined $36,082 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during the pandemic. Both loans were later forgiven, despite records listing only one employee per company. Business filings in Illinois and Indiana confirmed Stankovic as the owner of both entities.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer against Stankovic at the Porter County Jail, where he is being held on charges of felony reckless homicide and felony criminal recklessness resulting in death. “This criminal illegal alien didn’t even have a valid commercial license,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “We’re working with our state and local partners to get illegal alien truck drivers who often don’t know basic traffic laws off our highways.”

Rosemary Jenks, policy director for the Immigration Accountability Project, told Fox News Digital that the case highlights serious oversight failures in distributing pandemic-era funds. “Illegal aliens should never be able to access our taxpayer dollars,” Jenks said. “Those dollars should be reserved for Americans.”

Stankovic was previously arrested in 2018 in Long Island, New York, for resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration. He remains in custody pending further court proceedings.

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