CENTREVILLE, Va. — A day after a suspect was arrested, the man killed by a driver suspected of DUI and speeding more than 110 mph is being remembered by his widow.
Afrah Ahmed said just one month before her birthday, her 30-year-old husband Sohail Iqbal died at Stringfellow Road and Lee Highway in Centreville. Just after midnight on Dec. 5, investigators said he was struck by another vehicle, which sent him onto an embankment and into a concrete pole foundation.
The two had been married for less than two years.
“I still feel like he's gone too early, and I feel like he should be here with me right now,” Ahmed told WUSA9. “I thought we would be starting a family this year. He’s always wanted that. I thought I would have years and years with him but he was taken from me too suddenly.”
Just this week, Fairfax County Police arrested 22-year-old Gabriel Rincon of Fairfax on Tuesday. He was charged with DUI-related manslaughter and reckless driving.
He was accused of speeding more than 110 mph on a road with a 45 mph zone. Police said Rincon was released on his own personal recognizance.
“He took someone’s life,” Ahmed added. “A bond is not enough. Charging with him reckless driving or drinking and driving is not enough. All I’m hoping is that the process goes quickly because I’m still grieving and missing him every day. The longer it takes, the longer it will affect me.”
The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said it took three months to file charges because Rincon was hospitalized with significant injuries. The duration of the time allowed more time to receive reports from the medical examiner and gather other evidence.
Ahmed remembers her husband as someone who loved his role as a business analyst. He came from Pakistan to study in New York.
“I moved from Canada to United States to be with him,” she said. “Now it's all gone so I hope people will think before they drive again. If they’re drinking, they can call an Uber. They can call a friend. They can learn something from this.”
The family has set up this GoFundMe for support.
The latest numbers from the Virginia Highway Safety Office showed out of the nearly 7,000 crashes related to alcohol in 2022, 274 drivers, pedestrians, and passengers died. That was up from the year before.
The number of DUI convictions went down slightly that year to 14,247.
In Fairfax County, data released showed there were 28 fatal crashes, 12 of them related to alcohol. In 2022, nine out of 43 fatal crashes involved alcohol.
Sgt. Jacob Pearce of FCPD said they will continue to focus on efforts to curb reckless driving this year, with an emphasis on impaired driving particularly this month.
“Fatal vehicle crashes were down about 35%, and in 2024, we're hoping to build on that success,” Pearce told WUSA9. “We’re going to be out here doing our part but we also need the community to do their part as well.”