2 families form connection mourning loss after deadly East Bay crashes
CONCORD, Calif. (KTVU) - This has been a devastating week for a Concord family.
A 56-year-old Afghan immigrant who was a husband, brother, and father was killed in a horrific car crash.
That incident has tragic similarities to another fatal crash in Concord three years ago, which has created a connection for two grieving families. The connection seems to be helping everyone involved.
Pink paint still marks the spot where the car containing Mohammad Ibrahimi came to rest on Wednesday morning. "He was a very loving caring man, always looked out for people, even me to this day," said his nephew, Abrahim Ibrahimi.
Police say the father of four was traveling on Ayers Road in his Acura, when he was broadsided by a pickup truck on Concord Boulevard.
They say the other driver, an 18-year old woman, blew through a red light. "I know she didn't mean to wake up that morning and thinking that she was going to kill somebody," said Concord Police Chaplain, Starr Nuri.
Police say the impact was so great that Ibrahimi was killed instantly. "It doesn't look like the phone or distracted driving was actually involved, you know, we're looking at speeds," explained Ken Carlson of the Concord Police Department.
Two days later, Ibrahimi's sister was at the scene, still nearly inconsolable. Nephew Abrahim Ibrahimi comforted her. "They're starting to hold up better, but they're all still devastated. Even me, I don't want to believe it to this point," he said.
Mohammad Ibrahimi was the banquet manager at Walnut Creek's Embassy Suites hotel for 25 years. Starr Nuri, a nurse at John Muir Medical Center, is working with his wife and family. "She was amazed. She just said, you feel my pain. I said ‘I do,'" Nuri said.
Nuri became a police chaplain after her own devastating loss when her husband and daughter were killed by a speeding SUV driven by a 17-year old on Treat Boulevard three years ago. "So, we hugged each other. And she held me, I held her hand, and I looked at her and she looked at me. And we didn't have to say much. We kind of relate, we felt each other's pain," said Nuri.
Both families are from Afghanistan. "She really understood that God had called upon him, and that we're supposed to believe as Muslims that when our time is here, we're supposed to accept that. So, I kind of looked at that and said, wow. You inspired me," said Nuri.
The other driver, Alana Urban of Martinez, is now facing a charge of vehicular manslaughter. People at the scene expressed sorrow for her family, as well.