JAY COUNTY, INDIANA — Federal officials say ICE arrested semi-truck driver Bekzhan Beishekeev, 30, of Philadelphia, on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in connection with a fatal crash that killed four people earlier this week in Jay County, Indiana. ICE said it issued an immigration detainer for Beishekeev at the Jay County Jail on Feb. 4, then took him into custody the morning of Feb. 5, adding he will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.

ICE identified Beishekeev as a national of Kyrgyzstan and said he entered the United States using the CBP One app and was later issued a commercial driver’s license in Pennsylvania. The agency also emphasized concerns about English proficiency and traffic-law understanding among commercial drivers, referencing ongoing enforcement efforts and recent cases involving other non-citizen truck drivers.

Indiana State Police said the crash happened Tuesday, Feb. 3, just before 4 p.m., near State Road 67 and County Road 550 East. Investigators say a 2019 International semi tractor-trailer, driven by Gert Pretoruis, 44, of Geneva, was traveling eastbound on SR-67 and slowed for traffic. A 2022 Freightliner semi tractor-trailer, driven by Beishekeev, was also traveling eastbound and did not stop, troopers said. Police say Beishekeev swerved into the westbound lane and struck a 2011 Chevrolet van head-on, driven by Donald Stipp, 55, of Portland.

The Jay County Coroner’s Office identified the four people killed as Henry Eicher (50), Menno Eicher (25), Paul Eicher (19), and Simon Girod (23) — all of Bryant, Indiana. ICE said the van was carrying up to 15 passengers and that others were injured, though it did not release additional details on those injuries in its statement.

The crash remains under investigation by the Indiana State Police, the ISP Critical Incident Reconstruction Team, the ISP Commercial Vehicle Division, the Jay County Sheriff’s Department, and the Jay County Coroner’s Office.

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