Trial Ordered for Pair in Roosevelt Blvd. Crash That Killed Mom, 3 Kids
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Two men have been ordered held for trial in an horrific crash that killed a mother and three of her children in what witnesses and authorities have described as a reckless race between the defendants on busy Roosevelt Boulevard.
Khusen Akhmedov, the driver of the striking vehicle, was held on a charge of third-degree murder and other offenses. Amhen Holloman faces trial on homicide-by-vehicle while DUI and other charges.
Witnesses have testified that the defendants were speeding, weaving in and out of traffic. One woman said she told a friend, "Those fools are going to cause an accident." And within seconds, auhorities say, Khusen Akhemdov, going at least 73 miles an hours, smashed into a family crossing the street, hitting 28-year-old Samara Banks and her four small boys (see related stories).
"She is thrown 210 feet, comes to rest, and the speed estimate for when she actually left the ground was 79 miles an hour," notes Philadelphia prosecutor Thomas Lipscomb.
It was sickening and heartbreaking testimony. One woman, an eyewitness, testified that she stopped and held one small, dying baby in her arms as emergency crews rushed to the scene.
A third-degree murder charge against Holloman was dismissed. His attorney says Holloman was actually going to turn off the Boulevard and was not racing at the time of the crash.
