Uzbek truck driver charged in connection with American college student’s death

An Uzbek truck driver is facing felony charges for his involvement in a crash in Madison County, Ohio, that killed a 21-year-old college soccer player over the holiday weekend. Officials pronounced University of Massachusetts at Lowell goalie Tobias Forsythe dead at the scene after they said Bekhzod Asrarov’s semi-truck crashed into the back of Forsythe’s Honda Accord, according to local news outlet The Columbus Dispatch, citing investigators. The semi then drove through the median barrier and median, crossing into the northbound lanes of I-71 and causing a second crash, according to the report.

Forsythe, an Ohio native, played with the D1 River Hawks in Massachusetts for one season, after transferring from southern Ohio’s Shawnee State. River Hawks’ Head Coach Kyle Zenoni described the late goalie as a humble, selfless, and honest player who set an example for the rest of the team, according to a Monday statement released by the university.

Who was allegedly responsible for his death? Asrarov, 42, entered the United States under the Biden administration on a lottery diversity visa, according to a report by Fox News. He received a commercial driver’s license from the state of Ohio, despite the fact that officials said he didn’t speak any English.

Asrarov used Google Translate at the crash site to speak with state troopers, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. He also attempted to rip off and hide his dash camera and tried to destroy his logging device and the three phones he was carrying, according to investigators, Duffy said. He is currently facing one felony count of tampering with evidence, and may face more, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Drivers who can’t read our road signs or speak with police must not be allowed to continue driving 80,000-pound semi-trucks on public highways, Duffy wrote in a Tuesday statement.

What is being done about it? The Trump Administration said it was doubling down on its efforts to keep illegal and unsafe truck drivers off the road and launched Operation SafeDRIVE in January.

Inspectors from the Federal Motor Company Safety Administration—which is a private company and not a government agency—conducted more than 8,200 inspections over the course of three days across more than two dozen states, according to the Transportation Department. The result was nearly 2,000 unqualified truckers and vehicles being removed from American roads, the department said. Of the 704 drivers placed out of service, nearly 500 of them were removed for English proficiency violations, according to a news release. Of those, the department said 56 drivers were arrested for DUIs and illegal presence in the United States.

Duffy released a Tuesday statement pledging that he would never stop fighting to keep those he characterized as dangerous truck drivers like Asrarov off the road.