via US: Woman killed in drink driving crash – New Zimbabwe 24/03/2015
A 26-YEAR-OLD Zimbabwean woman was killed in the US early Sunday morning when the driver of a car in which she was a passenger slammed into a parked tractor trailer.
Nancy Tinoza of Arlington was killed in the collision which occurred in Northeast D.C. at about 3:12am according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
She was pronounced dead after being transported to the Washington Medical Centre’s trauma unit.
The driver of the car and another passenger were also hospitalised, and after officers interviewed the driver, Momodu Bello, they arrested him and charged him with second-degree murder.
According to the criminal complaint filed in D.C. Superior Court, Bello, a 35-year-old Fort Washington, Md. resident, was intoxicated and speeding on Eastern Avenue, which has a 25 mph speed limit.
Bello reportedly told police he had two beers and a shot of Hennessy at a club in Bladensburg, Md., before driving, and “thought that the truck was moving.”
He was driving a Volkswagen Passat, which “submarined” under the truck during the collision.
Tinoza suffered “massive blunt force trauma” to the head and was rendered unconscious.
“(A witness) saw the defendant had dragged (Tinoza) out of the vehicle by her arms and began shaking her violently when she did not respond to the defendant’s attempts to speak with her,” the complaint reads.
“At one point, the defendant dropped the unconscious decedent, causing her head to strike the asphalt pavement.”
Bello was denied bond at an arraignment hearing on Monday and his first preliminary hearing has been set for Friday.
Tinoza worked as a research assistant with the International Monetary Fund, according to her LinkedIn profile, and graduated from the College of Wooster in 2012 through the US Student Achievers Programme (USAP) which places international students in U.S. colleges.
The program has set up a fundraising page to support her family in Zimbabwe — as of 1:30 p.m. The page has raised $10,000 of a $20,000 goal.
“We are saddened and devastated by this loss — she will be remembered for her kindness, energy, optimism and brilliance,” the USAP wrote on the fundraising page.
“She was a role model to many, and full of promise and potential. She will be greatly missed by her family, friends, and all she has touched.
“We appreciate any contributions to help send her home, and support her family in Zimbabwe during this difficult time.”
Those who want to support the fundraising effort can donate here.
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