Father Who Fled Afghanistan To Escape ISIS Killed By Distracted Driver In Sacramento
ARDEN ARCADE (CBS13) – A father is dead and his eight-year-old son is clinging to life at a local hospital after a car hit them Sunday morning.
Malaly Rafi leaves for the hospital where her 8-year-old son is clinging to life. Her husband Mustafa just died and these neighbors are all she has.
"We were colleagues, we were friends," said Latif Yama.
They're now coming together like a family. You see, these families are from a village in Afghanistan overtaken by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, known as ISIS.
"There are insurgents active right now," Yama said.
Yama says they all moved to this Sacramento apartment complex in search of a safer life.
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The men of the house worked in Afghanistan for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – and fled in fear of ISIS retaliation.
So when Malaly arrived just a week ago, death is the last thing she ever thought she'd be dealing with.
"He came here to start a safe life but unfortunately he lost his life," Yama said.
On Sunday morning, Mustafa and his son Andrew went for a bike ride in their new neighborhood.
"We heard a big boom and it sounded like someone got shot," witnesses say.
It wasn't gunfire. It was a car, slamming into them.
Investigators say a distracted driver was looking down at a text and drifted into their bike lane.
The father and son were on their way to the 99 Cent Store, picking up breakfast for the family.
"He came yesterday. He was trying to buy a car. Because he was new here. He couldn't afford to buy a car," said friend Jamil.
Friends say it's a constant struggle to make ends meet. Many of them are educated, but are still trying to find jobs here.
Malay's friend says life here isn't what she had in mind, especially not after this.
"We got scared and my kids are scared of going outside on the street," she said.
The driver, identified by California Highway Patrol as 25-year-old Sacramento resident Desmen Lashonne Carrino, stayed at the scene after the crash and was not arrested. CHP says the investigation is ongoing and could result in charges.